Ignacio Cortina
ALLIANT ENERGYAbout Ignacio A. Cortina
Independent director at Alliant Energy (LNT); age 53; director since 2023 (term expires 2026). Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer at Oshkosh Corporation (since Nov 2024); previously EVP, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary (Feb 2023–Nov 2024) and EVP, General Counsel & Secretary (2016–2023); joined Oshkosh in 2003. Board committees: Compensation and Personnel; Operations. The Board determined he is independent under Nasdaq rules. Each director (including Mr. Cortina) attended at least 75% of Board/committee meetings in 2024; all directors attended the 2024 Annual Meeting. None of his shares are pledged.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oshkosh Corporation | EVP, Chief Legal & Administrative Officer | Nov 2024–present | Executive leadership across legal, compliance, governance, environmental and administrative matters |
| Oshkosh Corporation | EVP, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary | Feb 2023–Nov 2024 | Oversight of legal, compliance and corporate governance |
| Oshkosh Corporation | EVP, General Counsel & Secretary | 2016–2023 | Senior legal leadership; corporate governance |
| Oshkosh Corporation | Various roles of increasing responsibility | 2003–2016 | Legal, compliance, governance progression |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) | Director | 2023–present | Alliant regulated utility subsidiary; same Board composition as LNT |
| Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL) | Director | 2023–present | Alliant regulated utility subsidiary; same Board composition as LNT |
| Other public company directorships | — | — | None disclosed in LNT’s 2025 proxy biography |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Compensation and Personnel; Operations (no chair roles) .
- Committee activity levels in 2024: Compensation and Personnel (5 meetings); Operations (8 meetings) .
- Independence: Board affirmed Mr. Cortina is independent under Nasdaq rules .
- Attendance: Board held seven joint meetings in 2024; each director attended ≥75% of Board/committee meetings; all directors attended 2024 Annual Meeting .
- Leadership structure: Independent Board Chair designated effective after the 2025 Annual Meeting; lead independent director role will be discontinued thereafter. Independent directors meet in executive session at every regular Board meeting .
- Shareowner engagement: Company engaged holders of ~55% of outstanding shares in 2024 across governance, pay, sustainability, strategy; feedback reported to the Board/committees .
Fixed Compensation (Director Pay)
| Component | 2024 Amount | 2025 Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer (all Boards) | $280,000 | $290,000 | Paid to all non‑employee directors for LNT, IPL, WPL service |
| Board Chair retainer | N/A | $200,000 | Applies if serving as independent Board Chair |
| Committee Chair fees (Audit / Comp / N&G / Operations) | $25,000 / $20,000 / $17,500 / $17,500 | $25,000 / $20,000 / $20,000 / $20,000 | Not applicable to Cortina (not a chair) |
| Other Audit Committee member fee | $5,000 | $5,000 | Not applicable to Cortina (not on Audit) |
| Meeting fees | $0 | $0 | No per‑meeting fees in 2024–2025 |
| 2024 total fees earned (Cortina) | $280,000 | — | As reported in Director Compensation Table |
| Director deferrals (Cortina, 2024) | $280,000 | — | Deferred into Company Stock Account; 5,320 shares credited for 2024 deferrals |
- Directors may elect to receive some/all fees in common stock or defer into the Alliant Energy Deferred Compensation Plan; encouraged to use 55% of cash retainer to purchase stock or defer into stock .
Performance Compensation
Directors do not receive performance-based incentive pay at LNT; compensation is retainer-based with optional equity via deferral elections (deferred stock units or Company Stock Account). No meeting fees; no director-specific performance metrics or option grants are disclosed.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current public company boards | None disclosed for Mr. Cortina beyond LNT/its utility subsidiaries |
| Committee roles at other issuers | None disclosed |
| Potential interlocks | Compensation and Personnel Committee disclosed no interlocks/insider participation; none of LNT’s executives serve on other boards’ comp committees with reciprocal relationships |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Extensive experience in public policy, compliance, corporate governance, environmental and legal matters; strategic leadership and risk management credentials cited by the Board .
- Committee fit: Compensation (executive pay oversight, workforce/culture) and Operations (safety, environmental compliance, reliability, large capex oversight) align with his legal, regulatory and risk background .
Equity Ownership
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (Mar 10, 2025) | 6,422 shares |
| Of which held in deferred compensation plans | 6,322 shares |
| Shares pledged | None |
| Shares outstanding (for context) | 256,866,523 |
| DSU/unit accumulation via Form 4 (latest) | 8,674.605 deferred common stock units as of Oct 10, 2025 |
| Notes and sources: Beneficial ownership and deferred-plan shares from Ownership table; none of directors’/executives’ shares are pledged. Outstanding shares total for context (no individual >1%). DSU accumulation from quarterly Form 4 awards of “Deferred Common Stock Units” in 2024–2025. |
Insider Trades (Form 4 activity – Deferred Common Stock Units)
Interpretation: Regular quarterly DSU accruals tied to director fee deferrals; no open-market purchases or sales disclosed for Mr. Cortina over this period. Aligns with proxy disclosure encouraging fee conversion/deferral into stock and the director deferral plan structure.
Director Ownership Guidelines & Alignment
- Guideline: Non‑employee directors must hold shares equal to 2x annual retainer (equivalent to $560,000 in 2024) within 5 years of joining the Board; directors joining in the last five years are “on track” to achieve goals. Shares and deferred holdings (Company Stock Account) count toward the guideline.
- As of Dec 31, 2024, all non‑employee directors with 5+ years on the Board met the guideline; newer directors (incl. Mr. Cortina, joined 2023) are on track.
Related-Party Transactions, Conflicts & Policies
- Related parties: The Nominating & Governance Committee oversees related-person transactions; none since the beginning of 2024 and none currently proposed.
- Prohibitions: Company prohibits hedging and pledging by insiders; none of the reported shares for directors are pledged.
- Insider trading policy: Applies to directors; designed to promote compliance with applicable laws and listing standards.
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback (Context)
- 2024 say‑on‑pay approval exceeded 95%, indicating strong support for compensation framework; the Compensation and Personnel Committee continues to review program design with independent advisors.
Compensation Committee Context (Relevance to Cortina’s Committee Role)
- Compensation and Personnel Committee members are all independent; held five meetings in 2024. The committee engages Pay Governance LLC as its independent advisor and found no conflicts of interest; no interlocks/insider participation disclosed.
Governance Assessment
- Positives: Independent director with deep legal, compliance, and governance expertise; active on Compensation and Operations committees overseeing executive pay, culture, safety, environmental compliance, reliability and large capex risks. Independence affirmed; attendance thresholds met; no related‑party transactions; hedging/pledging prohibited; growing ownership via quarterly DSU/deferrals signals alignment.
- Watch items: As a sitting senior executive at Oshkosh, continued monitoring for any potential commercial overlap or related‑party exposure is prudent (none disclosed to date); ensure time‑commitment remains adequate alongside demanding external role.
- Board structure supports oversight: Independent Board Chair after the 2025 Annual Meeting; regular executive sessions; robust committee structure and activity.