Carter W. Austin

About Carter W. Austin

Vice President of The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc. (GAB) since 2000; year of birth 1966; responsibilities include serving as an officer across the Gabelli closed‑end fund complex with a focus on investor relations and Ombudsman functions . Senior Vice President of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2015; prior Vice President of Gabelli Funds, LLC from 1996–2015 . Education: BA, Indiana University; MBA, Georgetown University; currently an investor relations lead across Gabelli closed‑end funds (e.g., GDV, GGT) . Frequently listed as IR contact on Gabelli closed‑end fund press releases (e.g., GDV and GGT), underscoring a capital markets and shareholder‑facing remit .

Past Roles

External Roles

No public company directorships or external board roles disclosed in GAB proxy filings reviewed; Carter appears only as an officer (not a director) of GAB .

Fixed Compensation

Notes:

• The FY 2023 and FY 2024 GAB compensation tables list only one officer (Molly A.F. Marion) receiving compensation from the Fund; Carter W. Austin is not listed, indicating no Fund‑paid compensation in those years. The tables expressly cover directors and “officers, if any, who were compensated by the Fund rather than the Adviser” . Historically, GAB’s proxy disclosed that “officers of the Fund who are employed by the Adviser receive no compensation or expense reimbursement from the Fund” .

Performance Compensation

• No stock awards (RSUs/PSUs), option awards, or performance‑based incentive structures are disclosed for GAB officers in recent proxy statements; GAB’s compensation disclosures focus on director retainers/fees and any Fund‑paid officer cash compensation (none shown for Carter in FY 2023–2024) .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Beneficial ownership tables in recent GAB proxies cover directors and nominees; they do not present officer‑level beneficial ownership (no Carter W. Austin entry), and there is no disclosure of officer pledging or hedging in the reviewed documents .
• Functionally, alignment comes via role longevity and adviser affiliation rather than equity awards; Carter’s tenure as GAB Vice President since 2000 and senior role at the Adviser since 2015 indicate embedded institutional knowledge and continuity .

Employment Terms

• Title and service: Vice President of GAB since 2000; address for officers is One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580‑1422 .
• No employment agreement, severance multiple, change‑of‑control, accelerated vesting, non‑compete, non‑solicit, clawback, or tax gross‑up provisions are described for GAB officers in the reviewed proxy statements; such provisions are typically not included for closed‑end fund officers (who are often Adviser employees) .

Investment Implications

• Pay-for-performance alignment: For Carter, compensation is predominantly fixed and administrative in nature (e.g., FY 2020 cash), with no disclosed equity/option linkage at the Fund—typical for closed‑end funds—limiting compensation‑driven trading signals (no vesting cliffs, option expiries, or PSU hurdles to anchor near‑term flows) .
• Insider flow signals: No officer ownership table for Carter and no Form 4 activity identified in company documents reviewed; investor‑relations responsibilities and adviser employment reduce the likelihood of material insider selling pressure tied to personal award vesting at GAB .
• Retention risk: Long tenure (GAB officer since 2000; Gabelli Funds SVP since 2015) points to low near‑term retention risk and continuity in shareholder communications and fund support functions .
• Governance context: GAB emphasizes board‑level oversight and committee structures; officer compensation (where Fund‑paid) is minimal and operational; investors should look to portfolio manager incentives at the Adviser and fund‑level strategy/performance for primary drivers, rather than officer compensation mechanics .