thanks, Normal Space does the job - at least partially.The remaining issues:

 - the (additional) rotation of objects due to PointAt is not communicated to Octane (as the xyz-Rotate values in Poser don't change either). So the spot following the character will not communicate its rotation to Octane, and hence will not rotate the emitter in Octane. But also ... when I move an eyetarget through the scene, the eyes will follow ... in Poser, but not in Octane. I have to inverse-handle the PointAt, can do, but good to be aware.

 - when I pick the emitter in the Hierarchy panel, and alter its parent (from spotlight to Universe), the xyz-Rotate and xyz-Tran value will adjust. However the Octane render does not adjust immediately. This is why my earlier tests on Normal Space were unsuccesful. After reselecting the emitter in Poser, the adjustments are communicated and the Octane render restarts with the emitter pointing in the right direction. Good to be aware of this too.
And ... thanks to Wim, the light itself is redirected as well.  

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Usually I'm wrong. But to be effective and efficient, I don't need to be correct or accurate.

visit www.aRtBeeWeb.nl (works) or Missing Manuals (tutorials & reviews) - both need an update though