Eileen Kamerick
About Eileen A. Kamerick
Independent Chair of the Board at Western Asset Global Corporate Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE: GDO); born 1958; director since 2013. Background includes CFO roles and governance expertise: CEO of The Governance Partners LLC (since 2015) and adjunct professor at Georgetown, University of Chicago, and University of Iowa law schools; National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow, NACD Directorship Certified (2019), and NACD Directorship 100 honoree (2022). Currently oversees 17 portfolios within the fund complex and is nominated to serve as a Class III director through the 2028 annual meeting.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press Ganey Associates | Chief Financial Officer | 2012–2014 | Financial leadership for health care informatics company |
| Houlihan Lokey | Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer; President, Houlihan Lokey Foundation | 2010–2012 | Corporate finance leadership; philanthropic foundation leadership |
| BP Amoco Americas; Leo Burnett; Heidrick & Struggles | Chief Financial Officer (prior roles) | Various | Executive-level finance experience cited in public filings |
External Roles
| Company | Role | Committees | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) | Director; Chair, Corporate Governance & Social Responsibility; Member, Compensation & Benefits; Member, Corporate Development; formerly Audit Chair | Governance Chair; Compensation; Corporate Development; formerly Audit | Director since 2007 |
| ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ: ACVA) | Director; Chair, Audit Committee; Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance | Audit (Chair); Nominating & Corporate Governance | Director since 2021 |
| VALIC Company I | Director | Not disclosed | Since Oct 2022 |
| Hochschild Mining plc (LSE) | Director (former) | Audit Chair (former) | 2017–2023 |
Board Governance
- Structure and independence:
- Board size: 8; Independent directors: 7; Kamerick is Independent Chair. Independent directors meet without management and are advised by independent counsel.
- Lead Independent Director: Kamerick previously served as Lead Independent Director (2023).
- Attendance and engagement:
- FY ended Oct 31, 2024: Board held 4 regular and 1 special meeting; each director attended at least 75% of board and committee meetings; no director attended the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
- Committee assignments and activity: | Committee | Kamerick’s Role | Chair | FY2024 Meetings | |---|---|---|---| | Audit | Member | Nisha Kumar | 5 | | Nominating | Member | Hillary A. Sale | 7 | | Pricing & Valuation | Member | Carol L. Colman | 4 | | Compensation | Member | Peter Mason | 1 |
- Term/tenure:
- Class III nominee at the April 14, 2025 meeting to serve through 2028. Director since 2013.
Fixed Compensation
- Fund and fund complex compensation (cash retainers and committee service; no pensions/retirement benefits provided to directors): | Metric | FY 2022 (Fund) | CY 2022 (Fund Complex) | FY 2024 (Fund) | CY 2024 (Fund Complex) | |---|---|---|---|---| | Eileen A. Kamerick | $12,386 | $333,778 | $11,233 | $506,000 |
- Notes:
- “Fund does not provide any pension or retirement benefits to Directors.”
- Each director currently holds 17 investment company directorships in the complex (2024 data context).
Performance Compensation
| Component | FY 2022 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Performance-based pay (bonus, equity, options) | Not disclosed; proxy presents cash compensation amounts only | Not disclosed; proxy presents cash compensation amounts only |
| Performance metrics tied to director pay | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
- No clawbacks, change-in-control, or severance provisions disclosed for independent directors in the proxy materials.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Relationship to GDO | Potential Interlock/Conflict |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton/Legg Mason fund complex | All advisers/subadvisers are indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of Franklin Resources; Kamerick is independent and not an “interested person” | Proxy states no non-interested director (nor immediate family) had any interest in the adviser or affiliates as of Dec 31, 2024 |
| Associated Banc-Corp | Unrelated bank; governance leadership roles | No related-party transactions disclosed with GDO or its adviser/subadvisers |
| ACV Auctions | Unrelated marketplace; audit chair | No related-party transactions disclosed with GDO or its adviser/subadvisers |
| VALIC Company I | Unrelated fund complex board role | No related-party transactions disclosed with GDO or its adviser/subadvisers |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial expert; deep CFO background (Houlihan Lokey, Heidrick & Struggles, Leo Burnett, BP Amoco); law and finance training (JD and MBA, University of Chicago); NACD Board Leadership Fellow and Directorship Certified; CERT in Cybersecurity Oversight.
- Academic engagement: Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law, University of Chicago Law, University of Iowa College of Law.
- Recognitions: NACD Directorship 100 (2022).
Equity Ownership
| Ownership Metric | Value | As-of Date |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar range of equity securities in GDO | “B” = $1–$10,000 | Dec 31, 2024 |
| Aggregate dollar range across funds overseen in family | “E” = Over $100,000 | Dec 31, 2024 |
| Directors/officers as a group ownership of GDO | <1% of outstanding shares | Feb 7, 2025 |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths
- Independent Chair with broad governance and audit expertise; serves on all key committees (Audit, Nominating, Compensation, Pricing & Valuation).
- Board independence high (7/8 independent), robust committee activity (Audit: 5; Nominating: 7; Pricing & Valuation: 4; Compensation: 1 in FY2024); directors met ≥75% attendance thresholds.
- No related-party interests with adviser or affiliates for non-interested directors; reinforces independence.
- External governance roles (Audit Chair at ACV, Governance Chair at Associated Banc-Corp) signal high committee leadership competence.
- Potential red flags / watch items
- No director attended the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders—investor engagement optics; though not required, it may be perceived negatively.
- Low direct fund-level ownership (category B) and group ownership <1% may limit “skin-in-the-game” alignment; typical for closed-end fund directors, but worth monitoring amid activism in CEFs.
- Multiple external board commitments require continued monitoring for overboarding/time constraints; current proxy attendance remains acceptable (≥75%).
Overall, Kamerick’s independent leadership, audit/governance expertise, and multi-committee participation support board effectiveness at GDO; disclosures show no conflicts with the adviser/subadvisers and adequate meeting engagement.