James Windels
About James Windels
James Windels is Treasurer of BNY Mellon Strategic Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. (DSM) and has served in this role since 2012. He is age 66 (as of the 2025 proxy) and is also Director (since February 2023) and Vice President (since September 2020) of the Investment Adviser, and Director – BNY Fund Administration; he serves as an officer across numerous BNY Mellon funds (e.g., 47 investment companies/103 portfolios noted in the 2025 proxy) . Fund proxies list officer terms as indefinite until a successor is elected and qualified . No officer performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue/EBITDA growth) are disclosed in DSM’s proxy materials .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact/scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNY Mellon Strategic Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. (DSM) | Treasurer | 2012–present | Officer role for the Fund |
| BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. | Director | Feb 2023–present | Senior role at the Investment Adviser; officer across many funds (47 investment companies/103 portfolios in 2025) |
| BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. | Vice President | Sep 2020–present | Executive role at the Investment Adviser |
| BNY Fund Administration | Director | Current (as disclosed) | Fund administration leadership within BNY Mellon |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. | Director | Feb 2023–present | Affiliated with DSM as the Investment Adviser |
| BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. | Vice President | Sep 2020–present | Affiliated role |
| BNY Mellon fund complex | Officer of multiple funds | Ongoing (counts vary by year) | Officer across 47–54 investment companies (103–123 portfolios) per proxies |
Fixed Compensation
- DSM’s proxies disclose compensation for Directors/Advisory Board members only and do not include officer compensation tables; base salary and bonus for officers (including Treasurer) are not disclosed in DSM’s proxy materials .
Performance Compensation
- DSM’s proxies do not disclose officer incentive design (no PSU/RSU/option grants, metrics, weightings, target/actual/payout, or vesting schedules for officers are provided); the compensation sections address Board compensation, not officers .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
As-of dates reflect aggregate statements for Directors/officers in DSM proxies.
| As-of date | DSM officers’ beneficial ownership of DSM Common Stock | DSM officers’ ownership of preferred (APS/VMTP) |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 10, 2023 | None | None (APS) |
| Apr 10, 2024 | None | None (VMTP) |
| Apr 10, 2025 | None | None (VMTP) |
| Aug 22, 2025 | None | None (VMTP) |
- Delinquent Section 16(a) note: DSM reported certain late filings for large institutional holders in 2024, not for officers (e.g., Bank of America timing); no officer ownership or transactions were disclosed for these periods .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Officer term | Officers hold office for an indefinite term until a successor is elected and has qualified |
| DSM role start | Treasurer since 2012 |
| Employer/affiliation | Director (since Feb 2023) and Vice President (since Sep 2020) of the Investment Adviser; Director – BNY Fund Administration |
| Officer address of record | 240 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10286 (officers’ address in proxies) |
Investment Implications
- Equity alignment: No DSM share ownership by officers (including the Treasurer) across multiple reporting dates indicates no direct “skin in the game”; pledging/hedging risks are effectively moot given zero ownership .
- Insider selling pressure: With zero reported ownership, there is no visible vesting overhang or selling pressure from officer equity awards at DSM .
- Retention/contract economics: DSM proxies provide no officer compensation, severance, or change-in-control terms; officers serve indefinite terms, and Windels’ long tenure (Treasurer since 2012) indicates continuity, but retention incentives at the Fund level are not discernible from DSM proxy disclosures .
- Pay-for-performance analysis: Absent officer compensation disclosure at DSM (no salary/bonus/equity metrics shown), investors cannot evaluate performance linkage, metric rigor, or potential risks like option repricing or discretionary bonuses at the Fund-officer level .
Note: DSM’s beneficial ownership sections also highlight significant outside holders (e.g., Saba Capital, First Trust), which may influence broader governance/trading dynamics for the fund; however, these are not related to Windels’ individual incentives or ownership .
Citations:
- 2025 DSM Proxy – Officers/biography/age/roles/term:
- 2024 DSM Proxy – Officers/term:
- 2023 DSM Proxy – Officers (prior counts)/role tenure:
- Compensation sections address Directors, not officers:
- Beneficial ownership (officers own none): 2023 ; 2024 ; 2025 (Apr) ; 2025 (Aug)