Christina Peeney

About Christina A. Peeney

Christina A. Peeney (born 1969) has served as a Trustee of The Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust (GDV) since February 8, 2022. She is designated an “interested person” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 due to a direct or indirect beneficial interest in the Fund’s Adviser, not an independent director. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Business and Computer Science Department at Middlesex County College (Edison, NJ) and an Analyst at Amabile Partners; previously an Auditor at Ernst & Young and Senior Account Executive at Prudential Investments Retirement Services. She holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an MBA in Finance from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Board classification, tenure, and slate: GDV’s Board has 13 Trustees, 10 of whom are not “interested persons.” Trustees are divided into three classes serving staggered three-year terms. Peeney is nominated to serve until the 2028 annual meeting (class term), having first joined the Board on February 8, 2022 .
• Independence status: Peeney is an “interested person” (not independent) due to a direct or indirect beneficial interest in the Fund’s Adviser .
• Committee assignments: Peeney is not listed as a member of the Audit Committee (Salibello—Chair, Fahrenkopf, Zizza) or the Nominating Committee (Colavita—Chair, Melarkey, Zizza). Lead Independent Trustee is James P. Conn .
• Meetings and attendance: In 2024 the Board met 5 times (4 regular, 1 special); each Trustee then serving attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings. Audit Committee met 2 times; Nominating Committee met once .
• Shareholder meeting attendance: GDV does not expect Trustees to attend the annual meeting; no Trustee or nominee attended the May 13, 2024 meeting .
• Portfolios overseen in complex: Peeney oversees 3 portfolios in the Gabelli Fund Complex .

Fixed Compensation

Compensation structure and 2023–2024 outcomes:

• Structure (cash only): Annual retainer of $18,000 plus $2,000 per Board meeting attended; $1,000 per committee meeting; Audit Chair $3,000; Nominating Chair and Lead Independent each $2,000. 2024 Board met 5 times .
• No equity (stock/option) compensation is disclosed for Trustees in the proxy .

Performance Compensation

• No performance-based compensation (no RSUs/PSUs, options, or disclosed performance metrics) for Trustees is disclosed in GDV’s proxy statements .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• Professional background includes auditing (EY), retirement services (Prudential), investment analysis (Amabile Partners), and academia (Middlesex CC). Education includes BA (Rutgers) and MBA in Finance (Fordham—Gabelli) .
• Oversees 3 portfolios in the Fund Complex (cross-fund governance exposure) .

Equity Ownership

Dollar ranges and beneficial ownership as of December 31, 2024:

Governance Assessment

• Independence risk: Peeney is not independent; she is considered an “interested person” due to a direct or indirect beneficial interest in the Adviser. This creates a structural alignment risk relative to best-practice independent oversight for a closed-end fund board .
• Ownership alignment: She reported no beneficial ownership of GDV and “None” across the Family of Investment Companies as of year-end 2024, indicating limited “skin in the game” versus some peers on the Board .
• Engagement signals: Board met 5 times in 2024 and each Trustee met the ≥75% attendance threshold; however, GDV does not expect director attendance at shareholder meetings and none attended the May 13, 2024 meeting, a potential negative for shareholder engagement optics .
• Committee influence: She is not identified on Audit or Nominating Committees, limiting formal committee influence relative to peers who chair or serve on key committees .
• Compensation structure: Cash-only director pay with modest retainers and per-meeting fees; no incentive equity or performance pay is disclosed for Trustees, which avoids misaligned incentives but also does not enhance ownership alignment .

RED FLAGS

• Not independent (interested person under 1940 Act due to Adviser interest) .
• No disclosed GDV or Fund Complex equity ownership as of 12/31/24 .
• No expectation for directors to attend annual shareholder meetings; none attended the 2024 meeting .

CITATIONS

• Trustee bio, roles, education, year of birth, tenure, portfolios overseen, other directorships cell:
• Independence designation and Board class/terms:
• Meeting counts, attendance threshold, fee structure:
• Audit Committee and Nominating Committee composition and meeting counts; Lead Independent Trustee:
• Trustee compensation tables (2024 and 2023):
• Beneficial ownership and dollar ranges: