Christian Pittard
About Christian Pittard
Christian Pittard (Year of Birth: 1973) serves as Vice President of The India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and has held an officer role since 2011. He is Head of Closed End Funds for abrdn, responsible for the US and UK businesses, and serves as Managing Director of Corporate Finance, having completed numerous closed-end fund transactions in the US and UK since joining abrdn in 1999. Previously, he led abrdn’s Americas and North American Funds business based in the US. Officers of the Fund are appointed annually and serve until their successors are chosen.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| abrdn (global) | Head of Closed End Funds (US & UK) | Current (as of 2025) | Oversees US and UK closed-end fund businesses; executed significant number of CEF transactions in US/UK since 1999 |
| abrdn | Managing Director, Corporate Finance | Current (as of 2025) | Led/oversaw numerous closed-end fund transactions in US/UK |
| Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited | Director | Since 2010 | Senior governance/oversight position at the adviser affiliate |
| Aberdeen Asset Management Inc. (AAMI) | Chief Executive Officer | Oct 2005 – Sep 2006 | Led US affiliate; senior executive accountability |
| Aberdeen Asset Management Inc. (AAMI) | Director & Vice President | 2006 – 2008 | Executive oversight at US entity |
| Aberdeen Asset Management PLC | Group Head of Product Opportunities | Since 2010 (noted across proxies) | Global product leadership, including listed fund initiatives |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| abrdn | Head of Closed End Funds (US & UK) | Current | Responsible for US and UK businesses |
| abrdn | Managing Director, Corporate Finance | Current | Significant CEF transaction execution since 1999 |
| Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited | Director | Since 2010 | Board-level role at adviser affiliate |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2024/2025 Disclosure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compensation paid directly by IFN to officers | $0 | Officers of the Fund do not receive any compensation directly from the Fund (they may be reimbursed reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses for attending Board meetings) |
| Officer appointment/term | Officers chosen annually; serve until successors chosen | Applies to all executive officers, including Mr. Pittard |
Performance Compensation
Not disclosed by IFN. As an officer employed by abrdn (the Fund’s external manager/affiliates), any salary/bonus/equity incentives reside at the adviser level and are not reported in IFN’s proxy. IFN states officers do not receive compensation directly from the Fund.
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Individual ownership threshold | As of April 1, 2025, no Director or executive officer, individually, represented more than 1% of IFN’s outstanding common stock |
| Group ownership threshold | As of April 1, 2025, Directors and executive officers as a group did not represent more than 1% of IFN’s outstanding common stock |
| Section 16(a) reporting | All required Reporting Persons timely filed during FY 2024 (based on the Fund’s review/representations) |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Officer since | 2011 (Vice President) |
| Appointment/tenure mechanics | Officers are chosen annually to hold office until the next year and until successors are chosen and qualified |
| Employer | Employed by abrdn/affiliates (serves as IFN officer; Fund does not pay officer compensation directly) |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance and selling pressure: IFN pays officers no cash/equity directly, so there are no IFN-level RSUs/options/vesting schedules that would create predictable vesting-related selling pressure; incentives and potential equity at-risk (if any) exist at abrdn and are not disclosed in IFN documents. This limits transparency on Mr. Pittard’s personal incentive levers from an IFN stockholder perspective.
- Retention and continuity: Long tenure as an officer (since 2011) and senior leadership across abrdn’s closed-end fund platform indicates institutional knowledge and continuity for IFN’s listed fund strategy.
- Alignment via ownership: The proxy indicates no Director or executive officer individually or as a group represents more than 1% of IFN’s outstanding shares; the absence of officer-specific holdings detail in the proxy constrains a granular ownership alignment assessment.
- Governance/compliance: Section 16(a) reporting was timely for FY 2024 among Reporting Persons, indicating clean insider reporting compliance.
Bottom line: For IFN, executive compensation, severance/CIC economics, and equity incentives for Mr. Pittard are housed at the external adviser (abrdn) and not disclosed in IFN’s proxy, reducing direct visibility into pay-for-performance alignment at the Fund level; however, his long-standing leadership across abrdn’s CEF business and the absence of any large insider ownership concentration at IFN frame a governance profile driven more by adviser-level incentives than by IFN-issued compensation instruments.