Lucia Sitar
About Lucia Sitar
Lucia Sitar serves as Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of The India Fund, Inc. (IFN) and has been an officer of the Fund since 2012. Her current primary role at abrdn Inc. is Vice President and Head of Product Management and Governance—Americas (noted as “since 2020” in the latest proxy), following prior service as Managing U.S. Counsel, and she originally joined abrdn Inc. as U.S. Counsel in 2007 . Year of birth: 1971 . IFN documents do not disclose TSR, revenue growth, or EBITDA growth tied to her role; officers do not receive compensation directly from the Fund, limiting any disclosed pay-for-performance linkage at the Fund level . She is also regularly designated as an attorney-in-fact across the abrdn fund complex for Section 16 filings and acts as an authorized signatory for compliance instruments, underscoring a legal/governance remit rather than portfolio management responsibilities .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| abrdn Inc. | Vice President and Head of Product Management and Governance—Americas | Since 2020 (per 2025 proxy) | Oversees product management and governance across the Americas within the abrdn fund complex, implying oversight of fund governance frameworks relevant to IFN . |
| abrdn Inc. | Managing U.S. Counsel | Prior to Head of Product role (years not separately specified) | Led U.S. legal function for abrdn Inc., supporting regulatory and governance matters for funds including IFN . |
| abrdn Inc. | U.S. Counsel | Joined 2007 | Provided legal counsel to abrdn’s U.S. registered funds and entities, including IFN . |
| Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP | Associate, Investment Management Group | 2000–2007 | Advised investment management clients, experience foundational to fund legal/governance execution at IFN . |
External Roles
No external public company directorships or committee roles for Ms. Sitar are disclosed in IFN’s officer biographies or proxy materials reviewed .
Fixed Compensation
Officers of IFN, including Ms. Sitar, do not receive any compensation directly from the Fund; therefore base salary, target bonus, and cash retainers are not disclosed at IFN (officers are reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses for attending Board meetings) .
| Component | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary (from IFN) | Not paid by IFN | Not paid by IFN | Not paid by IFN | Officers receive no compensation directly from the Fund; compensation is at abrdn Inc. and not disclosed in IFN filings . |
| Target bonus % (from IFN) | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable at IFN level . |
| Actual bonus (from IFN) | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable at IFN level . |
Performance Compensation
IFN does not grant RSUs/PSUs or options to officers; there are no Fund-level performance metrics, vesting schedules, or equity award details disclosed for officers .
| Incentive Type | Metric(s) | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs/PSUs (from IFN) | Not applicable | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Stock Options (from IFN) | Not applicable | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Cash STI/LTI (from IFN) | Not applicable | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (individual) | IFN filings reviewed do not provide an individual officer ownership table; only director holdings are tabulated in recent years . |
| Group ownership threshold | As of April 30, 2019, the holdings of no Director or executive officer, nor the Directors and executive officers as a group, represented more than 1% of the outstanding shares of IFN . |
| Section 16 filings context | Ms. Sitar frequently acts as Attorney-in-Fact on Section 16 filings for other officers/affiliates (e.g., signing a Form 3 on behalf of Rita Tahilramani on June 16, 2025), evidencing an administrative/legal role; this is not an indication of her own beneficial ownership . |
| Pledging/hedging | No pledging or hedging disclosures concerning Ms. Sitar were identified in IFN’s proxy statements reviewed . |
| Ownership guidelines (officers) | IFN proxies reviewed do not disclose officer stock ownership guidelines; director-focused ownership ranges are disclosed, not officer-specific guidelines . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employment start date at abrdn | Joined abrdn Inc. as U.S. Counsel in 2007 . |
| Officer of IFN since | 2012 . |
| Current title | Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of IFN; Vice President and Head of Product Management and Governance—Americas at abrdn Inc. . |
| Contract/Severance/COC | IFN filings do not disclose employment contract terms, severance multiples, or change-of-control provisions for officers (officers are compensated by abrdn, not IFN) . |
| Clawbacks/Tax gross-ups | No officer-specific clawback or tax gross-up disclosures appear in IFN filings reviewed . |
| Appointments/authorizations | Regularly appointed Attorney-in-Fact for Section 16/13 filings and authorized signatory on compliance documents (e.g., Joint Fidelity Bond allocation agreement signed “/s/ Lucia Sitar, Vice President,” July 29, 2025; included among named proxies on 2025 proxy card) . |
Additional Governance/Context
- Officer biography and role disclosures are consistent across multiple years of DEF 14A filings, with the most recent noting Head of Product Management and Governance—Americas “since 2020” and continuous officer service since 2012 .
- 2025 proxy materials appoint Ms. Sitar as one of the named proxies authorized to vote at the annual meeting, indicating ongoing senior fiduciary responsibilities within IFN’s governance processes .
- Ms. Sitar is named across multiple Power of Attorney schedules as an Attorney-in-Fact for numerous abrdn funds, reflecting a central legal/document-execution function across the complex .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance linkage at the Fund level is structurally limited for Ms. Sitar because IFN does not pay officers; compensation is at abrdn Inc. and not disclosed in IFN filings, reducing the availability of direct incentive metrics, vesting schedules, or equity alignment data tied specifically to IFN outcomes .
- Longstanding tenure (officer since 2012) and current leadership of product governance for the Americas suggest continuity in legal/governance oversight; however, the role is not portfolio-facing, and IFN documents do not tie her compensation to IFN TSR, revenue, or EBITDA metrics, limiting direct trading signals tied to executive incentives .
- Insider-selling pressure signals are minimal from available filings: Ms. Sitar frequently signs as Attorney-in-Fact on Section 16 documents for others, but we did not identify ownership or sales disclosures for her in the IFN documents reviewed; the 2019 proxy indicates no Director/executive officer (or the group) exceeded 1% ownership at that time, underscoring low concentrated insider ownership in IFN .
- Key governance takeaway: Ms. Sitar’s influence at IFN centers on legal compliance and governance integrity (e.g., proxy authority, fidelity bond execution), which is vital for operational risk control but does not furnish direct performance-tied compensation levers for equity analysts to model pay-driven behavior or potential insider liquidity overhangs at IFN .