Stephen M. Woetzel
About Stephen M. Woetzel
Stephen M. Woetzel is Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund, Inc. (ticker: AWF) and AllianceBernstein National Municipal Income Fund, Inc., first elected to both roles in November 2023; he is 53 years old and serves concurrently as a Senior Vice President of AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (ABIS), an affiliate of the Funds’ Adviser . Prior to becoming CFO/Treasurer, he served as Controller of AWF (AGHIF) and is long-tenured in the AB funds complex, with his Controller appointment disclosed as early as May 2009 . The Funds’ proxy statements do not provide officer performance scorecards (e.g., TSR, revenue/EBITDA growth) or officer compensation tables; they identify Woetzel’s officer appointments and ABIS affiliation and present compensation only for Directors .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | First Elected/Disclosed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund, Inc. (AWF/AGHIF) and AllianceBernstein National Municipal Income Fund, Inc. (ANMIF) | Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer | Nov 2023 | Elected officer of both Funds; age 53 in 2025 profile . |
| AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund, Inc. (AGHIF) | Controller | May 2009 (disclosed) | Listed as Controller in the 2023 proxy; subsequently elevated to CFO/Treasurer in 11/23 . |
| AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (ABIS) | Senior Vice President | “Since prior to 2020” (disclosed) | ABIS is an affiliate of the Funds; Woetzel’s employer in officer biographies . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years (as disclosed) | Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (ABIS) | Senior Vice President | Prior to 2020 – present (as disclosed) | Affiliate of AllianceBernstein L.P., the Funds’ Adviser; officer biographies state ABIS affiliation . |
Fixed Compensation
| Item | Disclosure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Officer cash compensation (base salary, target bonus, actual bonus) | Not disclosed in DEF 14A; officer biographies list employer (AB/ABIS) but no salary/bonus data. Director compensation is disclosed separately. | Officers listed and affiliated with AB/ABIS ; Director compensation table (officers not included) . |
| Perquisites, pensions/SERP, deferred comp | Not disclosed for officers in DEF 14A. | Proxy contains no officer compensation tables; officers only listed by role/employer . |
Performance Compensation
| Element | Metric(s) | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual/long-term incentive plans for officers | Not disclosed in DEF 14A for Fund officers. The proxy provides no officer performance metric design (e.g., TSR, EBITDA, ESG). | — | — | — | — |
| Source: Officers section (roles/employers only) ; compensation tables are for Directors, not officers . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Disclosure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Individual beneficial ownership – Stephen M. Woetzel | Not individually broken out; officer holdings not tabulated in DEF 14A. | Officers listed; no officer ownership table provided . |
| Directors and officers as a group – ownership as % of shares outstanding | Less than 1% of the shares of either Fund as of Feb 3, 2025. | |
| Shares pledged/hedging policies for officers | Not disclosed for officers in DEF 14A. | Officers section provides roles/employers only . |
| Ownership guidelines for officers | Not disclosed in DEF 14A. |
Employment Terms
- Officer election cadence: Each officer is elected annually by the applicable Fund’s Board .
- Current roles and first election date:
- Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, both Funds – first elected November 2023 .
- Employment agreements, severance, and change‑of‑control provisions: Not disclosed for officers in the DEF 14A .
- Clawbacks, tax gross‑ups, non‑compete/non‑solicit, garden leave, post‑termination consulting: Not disclosed for officers in the DEF 14A .
Performance & Track Record
- Tenure and progression: Controller of AWF disclosed in 2009; elevated to Treasurer and CFO effective November 2023, indicating long continuity in AWF’s finance function .
- Section 16 compliance signal: The 2024 proxy notes one late Form 3 for another officer (Controller Phyllis J. Clarke) and otherwise indicates compliance; no issues are identified for Woetzel in the Section 16 discussion .
- Fund officer roles are reported without individual performance outcomes/scorecards in the proxy; no TSR or financial metric attributions to officers are provided .
Investment Implications
- Pay transparency and alignment: Closed‑end fund proxies here do not disclose officer pay/metrics; compensation and vesting levers (cash/equity mix, performance metrics, vesting schedules) are not available for analysis. This limits direct pay‑for‑performance assessment and insider selling pressure inference from award vesting patterns .
- Skin‑in‑the‑game: Aggregate director/officer ownership is under 1%, and officer‑level ownership for Woetzel is not disclosed—suggesting limited direct equity alignment signals at the Fund level; note that AB/ABIS employment concentrates incentives at the adviser level rather than the Fund entity .
- Retention/continuity: Woetzel’s long tenure (Controller since at least 2009; CFO/Treasurer since 11/23) and annual re‑election convention for officers point to operational continuity; no 8‑K executive change filings are referenced in the proxy materials .
- Governance checks: Officer roles are disclosed; compensation oversight and disclosure in the proxies focus on Directors (including committee structure and remuneration), not officers—typical for externally managed funds; no officer‑specific red flags (pledging, gross‑ups, related‑party transactions) are surfaced in the filings reviewed .