Richard J. Walz

About Richard J. Walz

Richard J. Walz is Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) of The Gabelli Multimedia Trust Inc. (GGT) and of registered investment companies across the Gabelli Fund Complex, serving in this role since 2013; he was born in 1959 . The proxy statements do not disclose education, prior employers, or individual performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue or EBITDA growth) specific to Mr. Walz; fund-level governance highlights note that the Board receives periodic compliance reports from the CCO as part of risk oversight . Section 16(a) compliance was affirmed for 2024 except one late Form 4 by a director (Mr. Birch); no delinquency is attributed to Mr. Walz .

Past Roles

External Roles

• No external roles for Mr. Walz are mentioned in the GGT proxy biographies; his principal occupation is CCO of registered investment companies within the Gabelli Fund Complex .

Fixed Compensation

• Mr. Walz’s compensation is not disclosed at the Fund level; the Compensation Table only presents directors and any officers compensated by the Fund rather than by the Adviser. In 2024, the only officer compensated directly by the Fund was the Vice President/Ombudsman ($74,275); the CCO is not listed, implying compensation is paid by the Adviser and thus not reported in the Fund’s proxy .
• The Board maintains multi-fund ad hoc Compensation Committees, including one specifically covering CCO compensation across the fund complex, indicating his pay is overseen at a complex-wide level rather than fund-by-fund disclosure .

Performance Compensation

• The proxy statements do not disclose any performance-based incentive metrics (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR percentiles) tied to Mr. Walz’s compensation. CCO compensation is overseen by a multi-fund ad hoc Compensation Committee; no award structures, targets, or payout formulas are provided in GGT’s proxy .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• The Fund’s ownership table shows Mr. Walz held no common shares as of the respective year-ends, indicating limited “skin-in-the-game” alignment at the Fund level .
• Pledging/hedging disclosures for officers are not provided in the proxy; no pledges by Mr. Walz are indicated within the available ownership tables .

Employment Terms

• Officers hold office for an indefinite term until resignation/retirement or until a successor is elected and qualified; fixed contract terms, severance, or change-of-control provisions for officers are not disclosed in the Fund’s proxy .
• Board oversight includes periodic compliance reporting from the CCO as part of risk management; the Board’s structure and committee framework (Audit, Nominating, ad hoc committees including Compensation and Proxy Voting) define governance around the role rather than individual employment agreements .

Investment Implications

• Compensation transparency: Lack of fund-level disclosure for the CCO suggests compensation is paid by the Adviser and overseen via multi-fund committees; without metrics/targets, pay-for-performance assessment at the Fund is not possible from proxies alone .
• Alignment: Zero beneficial ownership at GGT points to limited direct alignment with common shareholders for this executive; however, as a complex-wide CCO, alignment is primarily via fiduciary/compliance responsibilities rather than equity incentives .
• Retention risk: Indefinite officer terms and multi-fund oversight imply continuity; absence of disclosed severance/COC economics neither strengthens nor weakens retention signals in the proxy record .
• Trading signals: With no holdings disclosed, insider selling pressure tied to Mr. Walz is inherently low at the Fund level; broader insider activity is monitored via Section 16 filings, with the Fund reporting overall compliance for 2024 (one late Form 4 by a director, not the CCO) .