Deidre Walsh
About Deidre Walsh
Deidre E. Walsh (born 1971) serves as Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Income Trust (EFT), and has held an officer role in the Fund complex since 2021; officers serve indefinite terms of office . She is Vice President of Eaton Vance and Boston Management and Research (BMR) and, since 2021, Vice President of Calvert Research and Management (CRM); she also signs the Fund’s SEC filings in her capacity as Vice President & Chief Legal Officer . Because of her positions with Eaton Vance and ownership of Morgan Stanley stock, officers benefit from advisory/administration fees paid by the Fund to Eaton Vance; the proxy does not disclose individual officer compensation metrics or TSR/financial performance ties for officers .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eaton Vance Management (Eaton Vance) | Vice President | Past five years (per proxy occupation disclosure) | Officer across the Eaton Vance fund complex; benefits from advisory/admin fees via affiliation |
| Boston Management and Research (BMR) | Vice President | Past five years (per proxy occupation disclosure) | Officer across the Eaton Vance fund complex; benefits from advisory/admin fees via affiliation |
| Calvert Research and Management (CRM) | Vice President | Since 2021 | Officer of 45 registered investment companies advised/administered by CRM (as of 2025 proxy) |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eaton Vance fund complex | Officer across registered investment companies | Ongoing; latest disclosure shows officer roles across 123 registered investment companies managed by Eaton Vance or BMR (2025 proxy) | Legal and governance leadership across funds; indirect economic alignment via Morgan Stanley equity |
| Calvert Research and Management (CRM) fund complex | Officer across registered investment companies | Since 2021 | Legal/governance officer for 45 registered investment companies within CRM (2025 proxy) |
Fixed Compensation
- Officer compensation for EFT is not disclosed; proxies provide trustee (board) remuneration but not individual officer salary/bonus/stock awards. Officers, due to positions with Eaton Vance and ownership of Morgan Stanley stock, benefit from fees paid by the Fund to Eaton Vance .
- Trustee compensation schedule (board-only) disclosed: annual retainers and committee fees; not applicable to officers .
Performance Compensation
- No disclosure of officer performance metrics, bonus targets, RSU/PSU structures, or option awards for EFT officers in the proxy statements .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | Data | Date/Context |
|---|---|---|
| Officer/Trustee group beneficial ownership | Trustees and executive officers of the Fund, individually and as a group, owned beneficially less than 1% of outstanding Common Shares and/or VRTPS | As of December 30, 2024 (2025 proxy) |
| Individual officer holdings (Walsh) | Not individually broken out in the proxy; only group-level disclosure | As of December 30, 2024 |
| Pledging/Hedging | No pledging or hedging disclosures for officers in the proxy | 2025 proxy |
| Ownership mechanics | Officers benefit from advisory/admin fees via Eaton Vance, and ownership of Morgan Stanley stock; no Fund-specific stock ownership guidelines disclosed for officers | 2025 proxy |
Employment Terms
| Element | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Fund role/title | Vice President & Chief Legal Officer |
| Officer since | 2021 |
| Term length | Indefinite term of office for Fund officers |
| Business address | One Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109 |
| Employment contract, severance, change-of-control | Not disclosed in Fund proxy |
| Non-compete/non-solicit/garden leave | Not disclosed in Fund proxy |
| Clawback/tax gross-ups | Not disclosed in Fund proxy |
Investment Implications
- Limited direct alignment via Fund equity: trustees/executive officers collectively own less than 1% of outstanding shares, and individual officer ownership is not detailed; insider selling pressure signals are minimal due to the absence of officer-level holdings disclosure .
- Compensation transparency is low for officers: proxies disclose trustee pay but not officer salary/bonus/equity awards; as a result, pay-for-performance and vesting schedule assessments cannot be performed from Fund documents .
- Governance/legal continuity: Walsh’s indefinite officer term and cross-complex legal leadership (Eaton Vance, BMR, CRM) point to stable governance oversight; economic alignment is indirect through Morgan Stanley stock and advisory/admin fee structures rather than Fund-level equity incentives .
- Trading signals: with no Form 4 detail in proxies and no individual officer ownership breakdown, there are no observable near-term insider transaction signals tied to Walsh’s role; continue to monitor Item 5.02 8-Ks and Section 16 filings for any future changes .