R. Kelly Williams, Jr.
About R. Kelly Williams, Jr.
R. Kelly Williams, Jr. serves as President and Principal Executive Officer of Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Global Buy-Write Opportunities Fund (ETW) and has been an officer of the fund since 2023. He is President and Chief Operating Officer of Atlanta Capital Management and also serves as Co-Head of the Eaton Vance Equity and Diversified Equity groups and a member of the Morgan Stanley Investment Management Operating Committee; he holds a BS in Accounting from Auburn University and an MBA from Emory University, and previously was a senior accountant at Arthur Andersen LLP . The fund reported a 5-year average annual total return at NAV of 9.43% and a fiscal YTD cumulative NAV return of 2.55% (as of Feb 28, 2025), with an annualized current distribution rate of 8.49% at NAV; these figures are fund-level performance indicators during his tenure as Principal Executive Officer, not personal compensation metrics .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Capital Management Company, LLC | President & Chief Operating Officer | 1996–present | Senior leadership of investment adviser to Eaton Vance funds; operating oversight and client continuity through ownership transition to Morgan Stanley . |
| Morgan Stanley Investment Management (Eaton Vance Equity & Diversified Equity groups) | Co-Head; Member, MSIM Operating Committee | 2023–present | Equity platform leadership and governance in the broader MSIM organization . |
| Arthur Andersen LLP | Senior Accountant | Pre-1996 | Audit and accounting foundation, prior to Atlanta Capital . |
External Roles
| Organization | Position | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment Adviser Association (IAA) | Treasurer; Board of Governors (Finance Committee Chair) | Current | Listed Treasurer and Governor; finance oversight in industry association . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Disclosure for ETW | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed by the fund | Officers are employees of the adviser (Eaton Vance/Atlanta Capital) and receive remuneration for fund services out of the adviser fee; the fund does not pay officer salaries directly . |
| Target/actual bonus | Not disclosed by the fund | No officer cash bonus disclosure at fund level . |
| Officer term | Indefinite | Officers hold indefinite terms of office for the funds . |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metrics/Weighting | Target/Actual Payout | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short- or long-term incentives (RSUs/PSUs/options) | Not disclosed by the fund | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | The fund does not report officer incentive metrics or awards; pay is set and delivered by the adviser (Eaton Vance/Atlanta Capital). Item 18 “Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation” is “Not applicable,” indicating no fund-level clawback framework applies to officers . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership | As of Jan 28, 2025, the Trustees and executive officers of each Fund, individually and as a group, beneficially owned less than 1% of outstanding Common Shares; no Trustee beneficially owned ETW equity securities . |
| Pledging/hedging | Not disclosed in ETW filings. |
| Ownership guidelines | Not disclosed in ETW filings. |
| Insider filings | ETW officers sign fund reports as Principal Executive Officer/President (e.g., N-CSR, N-PX), but the fund does not disclose individual officer share counts; multiple Form 3 filings exist in the docket but no aggregate insider ownership above 5% is disclosed . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fund position | President; Principal Executive Officer (PEO) . |
| Officer since | 2023 . |
| Certifications | Signed Section 302 and 906 certifications (PEO) on Aug 26, 2025 for ETW’s N-CSR . |
| N-PX execution | Signed ETW’s N-PX as President – Chief Executive Officer on Aug 11, 2025 and Aug 30, 2024 . |
| Term of office | Indefinite (officers of the Funds) . |
| Compensation source | Officers affiliated with Eaton Vance receive remuneration for fund services out of the investment adviser fee (not paid directly by the fund) . |
| Clawback applicability | “Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation” – Not applicable . |
Fund Performance Context During Tenure
| Metric | Period/As of | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Average annual total return at NAV (5-year) | 5 years ended Feb 28, 2025 | 9.43% |
| Cumulative total return at NAV (fiscal YTD) | FY start to Feb 28, 2025 | 2.55% |
| Annualized current distribution rate (as % of NAV) | Feb 28, 2025 | 8.49% |
Note: Values represent fund-level NAV performance/distribution, not compensation metrics. The notice cautions against drawing conclusions about investment performance from distribution character .
Compensation Structure Analysis
- The fund does not disclose officer-level salary, target/actual bonuses, or equity awards; officers are compensated by the adviser (Eaton Vance/Atlanta Capital) and not directly by ETW. Consequently, there is no fund-level pay-for-performance schedule or metric weighting to assess for Williams (e.g., revenue, EBITDA, TSR) .
- Officers hold indefinite terms and sign as PEO/President; Item 18 indicates clawback rules are not applicable at the fund level, suggesting no fund-administered recovery provisions tied to officer compensation .
- Trustee compensation (not applicable to Mr. Williams, who is an officer and not a Trustee) is disclosed and paid pro rata across the Eaton Vance closed-end fund complex (e.g., Trustee annual retainer $325,000; committee and chair retainers as specified) .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Clawback policy applicability: “Not applicable” at fund-level for officer compensation .
- Pledging/hedging or related-party transactions tied to Mr. Williams: not disclosed in ETW filings reviewed.
- Concentration of control: Officers are employees of adviser affiliates (Eaton Vance/Atlanta Capital/Morgan Stanley), standard for closed-end funds; no officer ownership concentration is indicated (group <1%) .
Investment Implications
- Insider selling pressure and vesting overhang in ETW appear minimal: officers are not compensated in ETW shares, and aggregate executive/Trustee ownership is <1%; no vesting schedules or stock option overhangs are disclosed at the fund level .
- Pay-for-performance alignment in ETW is indirect: Mr. Williams’ compensation is set by the adviser (Atlanta Capital/Morgan Stanley), not by the fund; thus, no direct linkage exists between ETW’s NAV/market TSR and his individual incentive payouts as reported in fund documents .
- Retention risk is more tied to the adviser organization than the fund board: officers hold indefinite fund terms and have multi-platform leadership roles (Atlanta Capital President/COO; Co-Head Eaton Vance Equity), implying broader firm-level incentives and career anchoring rather than fund-specific contracts or severance/change-of-control economics .
- For trading signals, ETW filings provide no officer-level equity grant calendars or selling triggers; focus should remain on fund portfolio, distribution sustainability, and adviser process rather than insider activity. The fund’s reported 5-year NAV return and distribution profile provide the relevant performance lens for investors .