Christine S. Battist
CAPITAL SOUTHWESTAbout Christine S. Battist
Christine S. Battist (age 56) is an independent director of Capital Southwest Corporation (CSWC) serving since 2018. She is a CPA (Texas) and qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” with 30+ years across public and private companies in finance, accounting, capital markets, M&A, investor relations, and internal audit. Education: BBA in Accounting, St. Norbert College. Background roles include CFO of Avison Young (2018–2023), CFO/Treasurer of Silver Bay Realty Trust (2012–2016), Managing Director at Two Harbors Investment Corp. (2011–2012), and finance leadership at The Mosaic Company (2005–2011) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avison Young (private CRE services) | Chief Financial Officer | 2018–2023 | Led finance infrastructure, capital markets and investor relations; established internal audit |
| Silver Bay Realty Trust (NYSE: SBY) | Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer | 2012–2016 | Public REIT finance leadership; capital markets transactions |
| Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO) | Managing Director | 2011–2012 | Residential MBS-focused REIT; capital markets experience |
| The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) | Finance leadership roles | 2005–2011 | Fortune 500 agribusiness; accounting/finance roles |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Start date |
|---|---|---|
| Bolt Project Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: BSLK) | Director | Feb 2025 |
| Highland Bank | Director | Mar 2025 |
Board Governance
- Independence: Determined independent under Nasdaq rules and not an “interested person” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 .
- Committee assignments: Audit Committee Chair; member of Compensation and Nominating/Corporate Governance Committees .
- Board/committee activity: Board met 8 times in FY2025; Audit met 5; Compensation met 3; Nominating/Corporate Governance met 5. Each director attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings on which they served .
- Engagement: As Audit Chair, Battist reviews and triages shareholder communications to the Board before forwarding as appropriate .
- Executive sessions: Independent directors meet in regular executive sessions after each Board meeting .
- Risk oversight: Audit Committee oversees financial reporting, internal controls, valuation, compliance, and approves related-party transactions >$50,000 .
Fixed Compensation
| Component (FY) | FY2024 ($) | FY2025 ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual director retainer | 112,000 | 112,000 |
| Audit Committee Chair fee | 17,500 | 20,000 |
| Quarterly share purchase fee (to meet ownership guideline) | — | 20,000 (4×$5,000) |
| Investment Committee observer fee (only if applicable) | — | — |
| Total fees earned (cash) | 129,500 | 152,000 |
Performance Compensation
| Grant | Grant date | Shares | Grant-date fair value ($) | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-employee director restricted stock (FY2025) | Aug 9, 2024 | 2,090 | 50,014 | 100% on Aug 9, 2025 |
| Non-employee director restricted stock (FY2024) | Aug 10, 2023 | 2,240 | 50,019 | 100% on Aug 10, 2024 |
- Program structure: Annual time-based restricted stock (~$50k), forfeiture lapses at end of one-year term; directors also receive a quarterly $5,000 fee intended for additional share purchases to support guideline compliance .
- No disclosed performance metrics tied to director equity awards (time-based vesting only per plan) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| External board | Role | Noted interlocks/conflicts |
|---|---|---|
| Bolt Project Holdings Inc. (BSLK) | Director | No Item 404 related-party relationships disclosed for Compensation Committee members; no interlocks reported in FY2025 |
| Highland Bank | Director | Same as above |
- Related-party safeguards: Audit Committee must approve related-party transactions >$50,000; Code of Conduct/Ethics requires avoiding conflicts and pre-clearance for any trading; hedging prohibited .
Expertise & Qualifications
- CPA (Texas); designated “audit committee financial expert” under Item 407 of Regulation S-K .
- Deep finance/investor relations/capital markets/M&A and internal audit experience across public/private firms .
- Skill alignment with CSWC: Financial reporting integrity, valuation oversight, capital markets discipline .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Direct shares | Indirect (Trust) | Unvested RS | Total beneficial ownership | % of class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christine S. Battist | 9,755 | 7,281 (Trust Agreement dated Aug 13, 2007) | 2,090 | 17,036 | <1% |
- Shares pledged as collateral: None for directors/executives noted in table footnotes .
- Director stock ownership guideline: Must own 3.5× annual director retainer; Battist (joined Aug 2, 2018) not yet at threshold as of May 30, 2025, with allowance for reasonable time to comply .
- Shares outstanding at record date: 54,816,881 (for context) .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths:
- Independent director and Audit Chair with “financial expert” designation; strong alignment with BDC governance needs in valuation/internal controls .
- Clear engagement: reviews shareholder communications; participates across key committees (Audit, Compensation, NCG) .
- Attendance: Met minimum standard; Board/committees active in FY2025 .
- Ownership alignment mechanisms: annual RS grants; quarterly $5k share purchase fee; formal non-employee director stock ownership requirement .
- No reported interlocks or related-party conflicts; no hedging; no pledged shares .
- Watch items / RED FLAGS:
- Not yet in compliance with 3.5× retainer ownership guideline (ongoing; Board provides time; quarterly fee supports progress) .
- New external directorships (BSLK; Highland Bank) add time commitments; Board encourages outside service but monitors director capacity via annual evaluations .
- Broader governance context:
- Majority voting standard for director elections; retirement policy; independent committee structure and executive sessions support oversight quality .
- Say-on-pay support high (91.3% in 2024), indicating investor confidence in compensation governance overseen by committees including Battist .
Overall, Battist’s credentials and committee leadership (especially Audit Chair) are positives for board effectiveness and investor confidence; the main governance monitoring point is progressing toward stock ownership guideline compliance .