Mary Beth Schulte
About Mary Beth Schulte
Mary Beth Schulte (age 59) is an independent director of Abacus Global Management, Inc. (ABL) since July 2023. A Certified Public Accountant for 30+ years, she is CEO of The Strategic CFO LLC (since March 2024), with prior finance leadership at Attivo Partners (Consulting CFO, 2022–2024), Anders CPAs & Advisors (Director/Outsourced CFO, 2021–2022), and UHY Advisors MO, Inc. (Principal, 2015–2020). She holds an MBA and BSBA in Accounting from the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business at St. Louis University and is considered by ABL a prior public-company CFO and an audit committee financial expert .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Strategic CFO LLC | Chief Executive Officer | Mar 2024–present | Leads outsourced CFO strategy for early-stage and private companies |
| Attivo Partners | Consulting Chief Financial Officer | 2022–2024 | Finance leadership for growth companies |
| Anders CPAs & Advisors | Director and Outsourced CFO | 2021–2022 | Oversight of client finance functions |
| UHY Advisors MO, Inc. | Principal | 2015–2020 | Accounting and advisory leadership |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business – St. Louis University | Board of Directors | Current | Academic board service |
| Capital Innovators | Board | Current | Venture/innovation ecosystem |
| Cultivation Capital | Board | Current | Venture capital organization |
| Arch Grants | Board | Current | Non-profit entrepreneurship grants |
Board Governance
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Independence | Board-determined independent director under Nasdaq rules |
| Committee Assignments | Audit Committee (Chair), Compensation Committee (Chair), Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (Member) |
| Financial Expert | Qualifies as “audit committee financial expert” (SEC Item 407(d)(5)) |
| Attendance | Each director attended ≥75% of Board and applicable committee meetings in FY 2024; Board met 5x, Audit 4x, Compensation 2x, Nominating 1x |
| Board Leadership | CEO is Board Chair; no Lead Independent Director; independent directors meet regularly in executive session |
| Annual Meeting Vote (2025) | Re-elected as Class II director for term ending 2028 |
2025 Election Results
| Candidate | FOR | WITHHOLD | Broker Non-Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Beth Schulte | 68,258,417 | 1,961,866 | 1,560,600 |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Structure/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Director Retainer (stock) | $75,000 | Unrestricted common stock (equity-only) |
| Audit Committee Chair Additional (stock) | $15,000 | Unrestricted common stock |
| Meeting Fees | $0 | None |
| 2024 Director Compensation (granted 4/2/2025) | $90,000 stock awards (no cash) | Reflects director retainer plus audit chair equity; granted in stock |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Applicable? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Equity or Cash tied to performance metrics (TSR, EBITDA, ESG) | No | Non-employee director pay is equity retainer; no disclosed performance-linked metrics or options |
| Vesting/Performance Conditions | N/A | Annual grants are unrestricted common stock; no vesting schedules disclosed |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Topic | Findings |
|---|---|
| Public company directorships | Not disclosed for Ms. Schulte |
| Compensation committee interlocks | None; no member is a current/former ABL officer and no reciprocal interlocks with other issuers in 2024 |
Expertise & Qualifications
- CPA with 30+ years’ experience and prior public-company CFO background .
- Audit committee financial expert designation; deep finance and accounting literacy .
- MBA and BSBA in Accounting from St. Louis University’s Chaifetz School of Business .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Shares Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Beth Schulte | 34,278 | <1% | ABL had 95,616,386 shares outstanding on 4/22/2025 |
- Hedging/Pledging: Company policy prohibits hedging and pledging by directors, with pledging only allowed if pre-cleared by General Counsel .
- Section 16 compliance: Proxy lists late filers for 2024; Ms. Schulte not among those identified .
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent director with CPA credentials; designated audit committee financial expert—enhances financial oversight quality .
- Chairs both Audit and Compensation Committees, signaling high trust and centrality in financial reporting and pay governance; director compensation is 100% equity, aligning incentives with shareholders .
- Re-elected with strong support (68.3M FOR vs. 2.0M WITHHOLD), indicating investor confidence in governance continuity .
-
Watch items / potential red flags
- Dual chair roles (Audit and Compensation) can concentrate workload and may strain bandwidth in periods of heightened activity; absence of a Lead Independent Director reduces formalized independent counterweight to combined CEO/Chair structure .
- Company has multiple related-party transactions (e.g., Nova Funds, Carlisle acquisition arrangements), elevating importance of rigorous Audit Committee oversight; Ms. Schulte’s chair role is pivotal to mitigate perceived conflicts .
- No disclosed director stock ownership guidelines or clawback provisions specific to directors; while insider trading policy bars hedging/pledging (with limited exceptions), formal ownership requirements for directors are not specified in the proxy .
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Overall implication
- Ms. Schulte’s independent status, financial expertise, and committee leadership support board effectiveness and investor confidence. Monitoring execution quality around related-party reviews and compensation governance—given combined chair responsibilities and leadership structure—remains the key governance focus point for shareholders .