Supurna VedBrat
About Supurna VedBrat
Supurna VedBrat (born 1966) is an independent Class 1 director of Chicago Atlantic BDC, Inc. (LIEN), serving on the Board since March 13, 2025 and nominated for re‑election to a term ending at the 2028 annual meeting . She brings 25+ years across finance and technology, notably as Head of Global Trading at BlackRock (2011–2023), where she oversaw global multi‑asset trading and platform strategy, and previously served on CFTC Technology and Global Markets advisory committees; she holds a BA (Honors) in Mathematics from Delhi University and a BA (High Honors) in Computer Science from Rutgers University . Current external board roles include Roadzen, Inc. (independent director since 2023), South Street Securities LLC, and Women in Derivatives (WIND) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| BlackRock, Inc. | Head of Global Trading | Jul 2011–Feb 2023 | Oversaw trading across asset classes/regions; set strategic vision for scalable trading solutions; member of Global Operating Committee and Investment Subcommittee |
| Amber Consulting & Advisory LLC | Consultant | 2023–Present | Advisory services in finance/technology domains |
| Strategic Solutions Consulting | President | Jan 2009–Jul 2011 | Strategy consulting leadership |
| Bank of America | Fixed income, commodities, distressed debt analyst | Mar 2004–Jan 2009 | Research/analysis in FICC and distressed debt |
| ING Barings (London); Lehman Brothers (NY) | Various roles | Prior to 2004 | Capital markets roles in London/New York |
| IBM Research | Software Engineer | Career start | Technical/software engineering foundation |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roadzen, Inc. | Independent Director | 2023–Present | Public company directorship |
| South Street Securities LLC | Director | Not disclosed | Private company board position |
| Women in Derivatives (WIND) | Board Member | Not disclosed | Non‑profit advancing women in the workforce; received Financial Markets Luminary award; Markets Media Women in Finance Award for Leadership |
Board Governance
- Classification and tenure: Class 1 director; nominated to serve until the 2028 annual meeting; director since 2025 .
- Independence: Determined by the Board to be an Independent Director under the 1940 Act; only Independent Directors serve on Audit, Compensation, and Nominating Committees .
- Committees: Member of Audit, Nominating, and Compensation Committees; not a chair (Audit Chair: Americo Da Corte; Nominating and Compensation Chair: Tracey Brophy Warson) .
- Attendance: Board met 11 times in FY2024; Independent Directors’ cash retainer is payable only if they attend at least 75% of meetings in the prior 12 months; each director other than Mr. Bohra met the 75% threshold in 2024 (VedBrat joined in 2025) .
- Lead Independent Director: Michael W. Chorske serves as Lead Independent Director; he presides over executive sessions and coordinates agendas/communication .
- Executive sessions and risk oversight: Independent Directors meet in executive session without management; Board risk oversight conducted via Audit, Nominating, and Compensation Committees and the Chief Compliance Officer, with at least annual CCO reporting and executive session access .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Pre‑Nov 6, 2024 | Current (as of 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Independent Director Retainer | $25,000; plus $2,000 per in‑person Board meeting, $1,000 per non‑in‑person Board meeting; $1,000 per in‑person committee meeting, $500 per non‑in‑person committee meeting; Special Committee retainer $5,000 (+$5,000 for chair); meeting fees $1,000 per Special Committee meeting | $50,000 annual retainer, payable quarterly, contingent on ≥75% meeting attendance in prior 12 months |
| Audit Committee Chair Retainer | $3,500 | $20,000 |
| Compensation Committee Chair Retainer | $3,500 | $10,000 |
| Nominating Committee Chair Retainer | $3,500 | $5,000 |
| Meeting Fees | See left | Not paid (rolled into retainer model) |
| Director | FY 2024 Aggregate Compensation ($) | Pension/Retirement Benefits | Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supurna VedBrat | — | — | — | — |
Notes: VedBrat joined the Board on March 13, 2025; therefore no FY2024 compensation .
Performance Compensation
| Performance Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Director Performance‑Based Pay | None disclosed; Independent Directors receive cash retainers and chair retainers; no equity or incentive metrics disclosed for directors |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Entity | Relationship to LIEN (customer/supplier/competitor) | Interlock/Conflict Noted |
|---|---|---|
| Roadzen, Inc. | Not disclosed | No interlocks/conflicts disclosed in proxy . |
| South Street Securities LLC | Not disclosed | No interlocks/conflicts disclosed in proxy . |
| Women in Derivatives (WIND) | Not applicable (non‑profit) | No conflicts disclosed . |
The Audit Committee is charged with reviewing transactions with related persons; no related‑party transaction disclosures involve Ms. VedBrat specifically in the proxy .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Market structure and trading: Led global trading at BlackRock, overseeing multi‑asset execution and scalable platform innovation; member of key BlackRock committees .
- Regulatory advisory: Served two terms each on CFTC Technology Advisory Committee and Global Markets Advisory Committee, indicating policy/regulatory literacy in derivatives/market infrastructure .
- Technical foundation: Early career software engineer at IBM Research; dual quantitative degrees (Mathematics and Computer Science) .
- Board experience: Public company and private boards; recognized by Institutional Investor (Trading Tech 40, #8 in 2018) and Markets Media Women in Finance awards .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Shares Outstanding | Dollar Range Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supurna VedBrat | 0 (None) | 0.00% (22,820,408 shares outstanding) | None |
Notes: Ownership percent calculated using 22,820,408 shares outstanding on record date April 25, 2025 .
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent director with deep buy‑side trading, market structure, and regulatory advisory experience; sits on all three key Board committees (Audit, Nominating, Compensation), supporting oversight breadth .
- Board governance structure includes lead independent director, executive sessions, and formal risk oversight through committees and the CCO; Audit Committee chaired by an independent director and includes an audit committee financial expert .
- Director compensation shifted to a higher fixed retainer model contingent on attendance (>75%), emphasizing engagement and predictability over per‑meeting payments .
-
Watch Items / RED FLAGS
- No equity ownership as of the record date (“None” dollar range), and proxy discloses no equity grants to directors—potential alignment gap relative to shareholder interests .
- Company has not adopted a hedging policy for employees/directors (explicitly states no practices/policies regarding hedging transactions), which can undermine alignment if hedging occurs; policy oversight is a Board matter .
- Significant related‑party exposure to the Adviser and affiliates (management fees, incentive fees, admin services, and loan administration), requiring active independent oversight to manage conflicts; while exemptive relief enables co‑investments, allocation conflicts must be managed under policy—ongoing monitoring needed by Audit and Nominating Committees .
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Engagement Signals
- Committee attendance expectation embedded in compensation (retainer paid only with ≥75% attendance) incentivizes director participation; Board held 11 meetings in FY2024 and committees met multiple times (Audit: 4; Nominating: 2; Compensation: 1) .
Overall, VedBrat’s trading and technology pedigree, combined with regulatory advisory experience, is additive to LIEN’s Board risk‑oversight needs; however, absence of director equity ownership and the lack of a hedging policy warrant investor attention to alignment and continued scrutiny of related‑party arrangements with the Adviser under the company’s allocation and co‑investment framework .