Molly A.F. Marion
About Molly A.F. Marion
Molly A.F. Marion serves as Vice President and Ombudsman of The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc. (GAB), a role she has held since 2009; she was born in 1954 and was age 68 in 2022, with principal occupations including Vice President/Ombudsman across Gabelli closed-end funds and Senior Vice President at GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2020 (previously Vice President at GAMCO beginning in 2012) . The proxy statements reviewed do not disclose individualized performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue/EBITDA growth) tied to Marion’s compensation .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabelli Fund Complex (Closed-End Funds) | Vice President and/or Ombudsman | Since 2009 | Ombudsman function and officer role across closed-end funds in the complex |
| GAMCO Investors, Inc. | Vice President | 2012–2019 | Adviser-side executive role supporting the fund complex |
| GAMCO Investors, Inc. | Senior Vice President | Since 2020 | Senior executive role at adviser alongside fund officer duties |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | No public company board roles or external directorships disclosed for Marion in GAB proxies |
Fixed Compensation
Aggregate compensation paid by the Fund to officers (rather than by the Adviser) — Marion:
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate Compensation from the Fund (USD) | $63,792 | $78,760 | $80,406 |
- The proxies present only aggregate amounts for certain officers paid by the Fund; base salary, target/actual bonus, and perquisite details are not itemized for Marion .
Performance Compensation
- No performance-based incentive plans (PSUs/RSUs/options), metric weighting, target/actual/payout, or vesting schedules are disclosed for Marion in the GAB proxy statements reviewed .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Marion does not appear in the beneficial ownership tables for executive officers; ownership breakdown (direct/indirect, vested/unvested, options) and any pledging/hedging disclosures are not provided for Marion in the proxies reviewed .
- The Fund’s election to be subject to Maryland’s Control Share Acquisition Act pertains to shareholder voting rights mechanics and does not provide executive-specific hedging/pledging policy disclosures .
Employment Terms
- No employment agreement, severance multiple, change-of-control triggers, tax gross-ups, ownership guidelines or compliance status, clawback provisions, deferred comp elections, pension/SERP values, or post-termination consulting terms are disclosed for Marion in the GAB proxy statements reviewed .
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Board oversight is largely through Independent Directors (with certain interested directors), with committees including Audit, Nominating, and ad hoc committees; importantly, a multi-fund ad hoc Compensation Committee exists relating to compensation of the Chief Compliance Officer and certain other officers of closed-end funds in the complex (governance structure for officer compensation across funds), though Marion-specific decisions/metrics are not disclosed .
Investment Implications
- Tenure and continuity: Marion’s long tenure (officer since 2009) and concurrent senior role at GAMCO signal organizational continuity; retention risk appears low absent disclosed transition plans .
- Alignment and selling pressure: Lack of disclosed equity awards, options, or beneficial ownership for Marion implies limited direct stock-linked alignment and minimal insider selling pressure signals from vesting cycles; however, absence of disclosure limits precision of “skin-in-the-game” analysis .
- Pay-for-performance visibility: With only aggregate cash compensation disclosed and no performance metric detail, investors have limited transparency into pay-for-performance linkage for Marion; governance relies on complex-wide ad hoc compensation oversight rather than fund-specific metric disclosure .
- Contractual protections: No severance/change-of-control economics are disclosed for Marion, suggesting lower contingent liability exposure at the fund level; data gaps remain given reliance on proxy disclosures .