Alan Howard
About Alan H. Howard
Alan H. Howard (age 65) is an Independent Director of BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals, Inc. (DSM) and BNY Mellon Strategic Municipal Bond Fund, Inc., serving since 2018 and currently chairing the Audit Committee; he brings 30+ years of investment banking, corporate finance, and board oversight experience across public and private companies . He is Managing Partner of Heathcote Advisors LLC and has held senior advisory and executive roles including Managing Director at Credit Suisse First Boston (1985–2006) and President/CEO positions within Dynatech/MPX Holdings’ subsidiaries (2012–2019) . All Directors, including Howard, are independent under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and unaffiliated with the Investment Adviser .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) | Managing Director, Global Industrial & Services Investment Banking | 1985–2006 | Advisor on M&A, corporate finance, capital raising assignments |
| Dynatech/MPX Holdings LLC | President; Board Member of D/M Holdings; CEO of Dynatech International LLC; Board Member of Dynatech International LLC and Military Parts Exchange LLC | 2012–2019 (CEO through May 2019; boards through Dec 2019) | Led operations for military aircraft parts supplier; executive and board-level oversight |
| Rossoff & Co. LLC | Senior Advisor | 2013–June 2021 | M&A, corporate finance, restructurings, capital markets advisory |
| S3 Strategic Advisors LLC | Managing Partner | 2008–2010 | Strategic advice to hedge funds and asset managers |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Movado Group, Inc. (NYSE: MOV) | Director; Lead Independent Director; Chair, Compensation & Human Capital; Member, Audit Committee | 1997–Present | Compensation leadership and audit oversight; lead independent governance role |
| Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. | Director; Lead Independent Director; Chair, Audit Committee; Member, Finance & Executive Committees | 2020–Apr 2021 | Audit leadership and board-level finance/executive oversight |
| Siddhi Acquisition Corp | Director | Aug 2024–Present | SPAC governance; transaction oversight |
| New England Expert Technologies Corp. (private) | Director | Apr 2022–Present | Governance for precision-machined parts manufacturer |
| LSH Partners Securities LLC | Senior Advisor | Feb 2025–Present | Advisory across M&A, restructuring, capital markets, corporate finance |
Board Governance
- Independence: DSM’s entire Board, including the Chair and all Directors, are independent; Howard is an Independent Director .
- Committee memberships: All Independent Directors serve on Audit, Nominating, Compensation, and Litigation Committees (except Mr. DiMartino not on Compensation); Howard is Audit Committee Chair for DSM .
- Meetings and attendance: In the most recent fiscal year, DSM held 6 Board, 6 Audit, 1 Compensation, and 1 Nominating meeting; all Directors/nominees attended at least 75% of meetings; DSM has no formal policy on annual meeting attendance and Directors did not attend last year’s annual meeting .
| Governance Element | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Independence | Independent Director | All Directors are independent |
| Audit Committee | Chair; Meets regularly | Audit Committee report signed by Howard as Chair |
| Nominating Committee | Member | All Independent Directors serve; committee selects and evaluates nominees |
| Compensation Committee | Member | All Independent Directors serve; sets Board compensation |
| Litigation Committee | Member | All Independent Directors serve; addresses adviser-related conflicts |
| Meeting Attendance | ≥75% | Attendance threshold met; meeting counts disclosed |
Fixed Compensation
Directors receive cash retainers and meeting fees allocated across funds by net assets; Chairman receives +25%; there are no bonus, pension, profit-sharing or retirement plans, and expenses for travel/out-of-pocket are reimbursed .
| Pay Component | BNY Mellon Strategic Municipal Bond Fund (BNYMSMB) | BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals (BNYMSM) | Fund Complex Aggregate (portfolios) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Retainer + Meeting Fees (FY2024) | $8,220 | $9,570 | $170,700 (17) |
| Reimbursed Expenses | Policy to reimburse travel/out-of-pocket | Policy to reimburse travel/out-of-pocket | N/A |
| Office/Support Allocations | $430 allocated by net assets | $560 allocated by net assets | N/A |
| Bonus/Pension/Profit-Sharing | None | None | None |
Performance Compensation
No equity awards, options, or performance-tied bonuses are disclosed for Directors; compensation is fixed via retainer/meeting fees.
| Metric | Structure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Equity (RSU/PSU) | None disclosed | No director equity program |
| Options | None disclosed | No stock options |
| Bonus | None disclosed | No target/actual bonus |
| Performance Metrics | None disclosed | No TSR/revenue/EBITDA/ESG metrics tied to pay |
| Clawbacks/COC/Severance | Not disclosed | Not applicable to Directors in proxy |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Industry Overlap/Interlock Risk | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Movado Group, Inc. | Low overlap with DSM (consumer watches vs. municipal bond fund); governance experience beneficial | Low conflict risk; strong comp/audit expertise |
| Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. | No direct service-provider overlap with DSM; former role | Low current conflict; historical audit/finance leadership |
| Siddhi Acquisition Corp | Transaction-focused SPAC; no DSM overlap | Monitor transactions; low conflict |
| New England Expert Technologies Corp. | Private industrial manufacturer; no DSM overlap | Low conflict |
| LSH Partners Securities LLC | Independent boutique advisory; no disclosed DSM engagements | Monitor advisory mandates; low conflict |
- Related-party/affiliated holdings: As of Aug 22, 2025, none of the Directors or immediate family members owned securities of the Investment Adviser or its controlled entities (other than registered investment companies), limiting potential adviser conflicts .
- Litigation Committee exists to address potential conflicts between Funds and the Investment Adviser in securities litigation contexts .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Audit and financial oversight: Current Audit Committee Chair at DSM; prior Audit Chair at Diamond Offshore; Audit Committee member at Movado .
- Compensation governance: Chair of Compensation & Human Capital at Movado; lead independent director experience .
- Capital markets/M&A: Decades of investment banking at CSFB; advisory roles at Rossoff & Co. and LSH Partners .
- Sector breadth: Operating executive and board roles across industrial, energy, consumer, and aerospace supply chains .
Equity Ownership
| Holding | DSM Fund Common Stock | DSM Fund VMTP Shares | Aggregate Holdings of BNY Mellon Family of Funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| As of Dec 31, 2024 | None | N/A (not listed for Directors) | Over $100,000 |
| As of Aug 22, 2025 | None (Directors/nominees owned no DSM Common or VMTP) | None (Directors/nominees owned no DSM VMTP) | N/A |
- Pledging/hedging: Not disclosed .
- Ownership guidelines: Not disclosed for Directors .
Insider Trades
| Period | Ownership/Filings | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024–FY2025 | No DSM Common/VMTP ownership by Directors (incl. Howard) as of Aug 22, 2025 | Implies no DSM insider trading activity by Howard |
| Section 16(a) Compliance | DSM indicates required filings complied with, apart from noted administrative oversights (not involving Howard) | No delinquent filings noted for Howard |
Governance Assessment
- Positives:
- Independent status and Audit Committee Chair role strengthen financial reporting oversight; DSM’s Board is fully independent .
- Deep compensation and human capital governance experience (Movado Chair; lead independent director), plus audit committee participation enhances board effectiveness .
- Attendance meets threshold; substantive committee workload with regular Audit meetings indicates engagement .
- No adviser-affiliated security holdings by Directors/family members reduces related-party exposure .
- Watch items / potential RED FLAGS:
- Time-commitment risk: Multiple external directorships/advisory roles warrant monitoring for capacity and focus, especially during complex market periods .
- Alignment: No DSM share ownership could be viewed as weaker “skin-in-the-game” alignment, though director equity programs are not disclosed and not typical for closed-end funds .
- Annual meeting attendance policy is non-mandatory and Directors did not attend last year’s annual meeting; investor preference often leans toward visible engagement .
Overall implication: Howard’s audit and compensation governance credentials, coupled with independence and satisfactory attendance, support investor confidence in oversight quality. Alignment and time-commitment should be monitored, but no material conflicts or related-party transactions are disclosed.