Thomas M. O’Neill

About Thomas M. O’Neill

Independent Class I Trustee of Federated Hermes Premier Municipal Income Fund (FMN); Audit Committee Chair; born June 14, 1951; serving on the Fund’s board since August 2006. Principal occupation: Sole Proprietor, Navigator Management Company (investment and strategic consulting). The board class structure implies his current term, if elected at the 2025 annual meeting, runs to the 2028 annual meeting. He is designated an audit committee financial expert and is an Independent Trustee under NYSE standards.

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Committee assignments and leadership:
  • Audit Committee member and financial expert (2023); Chair from 2024 onward; Audit Committee comprised of independent trustees under NYSE standards. Audit Committee met seven times in fiscal 2022/2023/2024; O’Neill signed the Audit Committee Report as Chair in 2024 and 2025.
• Nominating Committee: all Independent Trustees; chaired by John S. Walsh; the Committee does not have a formal process for identifying/evaluating nominees; members are independent under NYSE standards.
• Board meeting attendance: each Trustee attended at least 75% of Board and relevant committee meetings in fiscal 2022, 2023 and 2024.
• Annual shareholder meeting attendance: the Fund does not have a policy for director attendance; no Board members attended the annual meetings in 2022 and 2023; none anticipated in 2024/2025.

Fixed Compensation

Notes:

• “Aggregate Compensation From Fund” reflects FMN’s portion; “Total Compensation” reflects fees for oversight across the Federated Hermes complex.

Performance Compensation

• No performance-linked compensation elements are disclosed for Independent Trustees (no bonus metrics, options, RSUs/PSUs, or performance targets). Compensation is disclosed as fees/retainers in the Independent Trustees Background, Qualifications and Compensation chart.

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• Financial expertise: designated audit committee financial expert; extensive CIO/CEO roles across investment management; credit and lending background.
• Independence: classified as Independent Trustee; audit and nominating committees comprised of independent members under NYSE standards.

Equity Ownership

Notes:

• Officers and Trustees collectively own less than 1% of each class outstanding.

Governance Assessment

• Positives

  • Deep financial and operational expertise; designated audit committee financial expert and Audit Committee Chair, indicating board confidence in his oversight of financial reporting, controls, and auditor independence.
  • Consistent engagement: Audit Committee met seven times yearly; Board met four times; attendance threshold met (≥75%).
  • Independence affirmed under NYSE standards for key committees (Audit, Nominating).
  • Section 16(a) reporting compliance: Fund indicates all reporting persons timely filed in recent fiscal years.

• Potential concerns and red flags

  • Alignment: no personal FMN share ownership disclosed; while common for fund complexes, lack of “skin-in-the-game” may be viewed as weaker alignment by some investors.
  • Nominating process: Committee “does not at this time have a formal process” for identifying/evaluating nominees, which may be perceived as less robust governance practice.
  • Compensation concentration: high total compensation from the Federated Hermes complex ($376,000 in 2024) could signal “career director” status; investors may scrutinize whether workload and oversight breadth match compensation levels.

• Net take

  • O’Neill’s audit leadership and financial expertise support board effectiveness and investor confidence in reporting integrity; absence of FMN share ownership and informal nominating process warrant monitoring for alignment and governance rigor.

Appendix: Committee Composition Snapshot

(Independent status and “financial expert” designations affirmed in each year.)