Richard J. Walz

About Richard J. Walz

Richard J. Walz serves as Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) of GDL and registered investment companies within the Gabelli Fund Complex; he has held the CCO role since 2013. He was born in 1959. A recent Form D filed for GDL identifies Walz as an executive officer in the capacity of Secretary and Vice President, while the Fund’s proxy lists him as Chief Compliance Officer, indicating functional responsibilities across compliance and governance within the Fund Complex . The Fund’s board disclosures note that compensation for the Chief Compliance Officer is overseen by a multi‑fund ad hoc Compensation Committee, underscoring governance and multi-fund alignment of CCO pay .

Past Roles

External Roles

• No additional external roles are disclosed for Walz in GDL’s proxy statements .

Fixed Compensation

• Officers are generally compensated by the Adviser; the proxy presents a table of Trustees and officers, if any, who were compensated by the Fund rather than the Adviser. Walz does not appear among officers compensated by the Fund for 2024 (only Laurissa M. Martire is listed), indicating his compensation is provided by the Adviser and overseen via multi‑fund ad hoc Compensation Committee structures .
• No base salary, target bonus %, or actual bonus paid figures for Walz are disclosed by the Fund .

Performance Compensation

• No equity-based awards (RSUs, PSUs, options), performance metrics, vesting schedules, or payout structures tied to Walz are disclosed by the Fund’s proxy statements .
• The Fund’s board disclosures reference a multi-fund ad hoc Compensation Committee that oversees compensation of the Chief Compliance Officer across funds, but without metric-level details or payout formulas .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• The proxy footnote states an asterisk indicates less than 1% of total shares outstanding .
• No disclosure of vested vs unvested shares, option holdings, or any shares pledged as collateral for Walz in the Fund’s proxy statements .
• Stock ownership guidelines and compliance status for officers are not disclosed in the Fund’s proxy .

Employment Terms

• Title and tenure: Chief Compliance Officer since 2013 .
• The Fund does not disclose an employment contract, severance provisions, change‑of‑control terms, clawbacks, tax gross‑ups, or non‑compete/non‑solicit terms for Walz .
• Governance: A multi‑fund ad hoc Compensation Committee oversees compensation of the Chief Compliance Officer and certain other officers across the Fund Complex, reflecting centralized oversight of CCO compensation. Committee membership details are provided for trustees, but award structures and terms for officers are not described .

Investment Implications

• Alignment: Walz holds no Common Shares of GDL, implying limited direct equity alignment or selling pressure from personal holdings; ownership registers show 0 shares in both 2023 and 2024 .
• Transparency: Compensation details for the CCO are not disclosed at the Fund level; oversight rests with a multi‑fund ad hoc Compensation Committee, limiting visibility into pay‑for‑performance linkages, vesting schedules, and incentive structures .
• Retention risk: Centralized, multi‑fund oversight of CCO compensation suggests structured continuity across the Fund Complex, but absent disclosure of contractual protections (severance/CoC terms), investors lack clarity on retention incentives or exit economics .
• Trading signals: With no reported personal share ownership, insider selling pressure attributable to Walz is minimal; furthermore, no Form 8‑K Item 5.02 filings were found regarding his appointment/departure, indicating stability in the CCO role .