Deidre Walsh
About Deidre Walsh
Deidre E. Walsh (born 1971) serves as Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Eaton Vance California Municipal Bond Fund (EVM), and has been an officer of the Funds since 2021. She is also a Vice President of Eaton Vance and Boston Management and Research (BMR), and an officer across 123 registered investment companies in the Eaton Vance fund complex; additionally, she is a Vice President of Calvert Research and Management (CRM) and an officer of 45 registered investment companies advised or administered by CRM since 2021 . Her business address is One Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109 . She signs Fund filings in her officer capacity, including the August 28, 2025 Form 8‑K as Vice President & Chief Legal Officer . EVM’s capital base and governance context during her tenure included net assets of $241.55 million, 24.67 million shares outstanding, and a $9.79 NAV per share as of March 31, 2025, and a Board‑approved plan to liquidate and terminate the Fund, subject to shareholder approval, to realize NAV and address activist dynamics .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eaton Vance California Municipal Bond Fund / Eaton Vance New York Municipal Bond Fund | Vice President & Chief Legal Officer | Officer since 2021 | Senior legal officer across the Funds; officer service spans 123 registered investment companies in the complex . |
| Eaton Vance; Boston Management and Research (BMR) | Vice President | Not disclosed | Legal/executive role at adviser entities that manage/administer the Funds . |
| Calvert Research and Management (CRM) | Vice President; officer of 45 registered investment companies | Since 2021 | Legal/executive responsibilities across CRM‑advised/administered funds . |
External Roles
- None disclosed for Ms. Walsh (no public company directorships or outside board roles identified in EVM’s proxy or reports) .
Fixed Compensation
| Item | Disclosure (EVM documents) |
|---|---|
| Source of officer remuneration | “Trustees and officers of the Funds who are members of EVM’s organization receive remuneration for their services to the Funds out of the investment adviser fee.” The adviser fee is 0.60% of average weekly gross assets, payable monthly . |
| Fund-level officer pay detail (salary/bonus) | Not itemized by the Fund; no individual officer salary/bonus disclosed in Fund filings . |
| Clawback (erroneous comp recovery) | Form N‑CSR Item 18: “Not applicable.” No clawback framework disclosed for Fund officers . |
| Perquisites, pensions, deferred comp | Not disclosed for Fund officers in EVM filings . |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive element | Metric(s) | Weighting/Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity awards (RSUs/PSUs), options | Not disclosed by the Fund for officers; officers are employees of the adviser and compensated out of the adviser fee (no Fund‑level equity awards to officers disclosed) . | — | — | — |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership in EVM | As of July 14, 2025, the Trustees and executive officers of each Fund, individually and as a group, beneficially owned less than 1% of outstanding Common Shares (no individual officer holding disclosed) . |
| Ownership guidelines, pledging/hedging | Not disclosed for Fund officers in EVM filings . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Officer term | “The officers of the Funds hold indefinite terms of office.” Year first elected as officer for Ms. Walsh: 2021 . |
| Employment agreement, severance, change‑of‑control | Not disclosed by the Fund; no officer‑specific employment contracts or CoC provisions disclosed in EVM filings . |
| Non‑compete / non‑solicit | Not disclosed in EVM filings . |
Fund Scale and Context During Tenure
| Metric | As of March 31, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Net Assets (California Fund) | $241,550,844 |
| Common Shares Outstanding (California Fund) | 24,672,939 |
| NAV per Common Share (California Fund) | $9.79 |
Additional governance context:
- The Board approved a Plan of Liquidation and Termination, citing small asset size, rising activist ownership, and the opportunity for shareholders to realize NAV (less transaction costs), subject to shareholder approval; total estimated proxy solicitation cost ~$60,000 split pro rata; liquidation transaction costs expected not to exceed $15,000 per Fund at the time of the proxy .
- Record date for the 2025 Annual Meeting: July 14, 2025; meeting set for September 23, 2025 .
Investment Implications
- Pay‑for‑performance visibility: Officer compensation is paid by the adviser (Eaton Vance/MSIM) out of the advisory fee and not itemized at the Fund level; as a result, there is limited transparency into Ms. Walsh’s individual cash/bonus/equity alignment in Fund documents, reducing direct pay‑for‑performance inference at EVM’s level .
- Insider supply/overhang: Aggregate beneficial ownership by Trustees and executive officers is below 1% of outstanding shares, suggesting negligible insider selling pressure or pledging risk from Fund insiders; no pledging or hedging practices are disclosed for officers .
- Retention/role durability: Officers serve indefinite terms and Ms. Walsh holds parallel officer roles across a large number of registered funds (Eaton Vance and CRM complexes), which may mitigate single‑fund dependency risk; no severance or change‑of‑control terms are disclosed at the Fund level .
- Trading/event setup: The Board‑backed liquidation, if approved by shareholders, is intended to allow realization of NAV (less costs) and address activist dynamics; for trading, this centers the event path (timing and costs) more than insider behavior, with legal execution overseen by officers including the Chief Legal Officer .
Key gaps: No Fund‑level disclosure of Ms. Walsh’s base salary, target/actual bonus, equity awards, vesting schedules, severance/CoC economics, or ownership pledging; such details, if any, would reside with the adviser’s internal arrangements rather than the Fund’s proxy or reports .