David Mihalick
About David M. Mihalick
David M. Mihalick (age 52) serves on MCI’s Board as an Interested Trustee (not independent) due to his current leadership roles at Barings LLC; he has been a Trustee since May 2022 and is nominated for a new three‑year term in 2025 . He is Co‑Head of Global Investments at Barings (since Jan 2025), previously Head of Private Assets (2021–Jan 2025), Head of U.S. Public Fixed Income (2019–2021), and Head of U.S. High Yield (2017–2021); earlier, he was a Vice President in Wachovia Securities’ Leveraged Finance Group, served as a U.S. Air Force officer, and worked seven years in telecommunications . He holds a B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an M.S. from the University of Washington, and an M.B.A. from Wake Forest University .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barings LLC | Co‑Head of Global Investments | Jan 2025–present | Manages global investment teams; member of Senior Leadership Team |
| Barings LLC | Head of Private Assets | 2021–Jan 2025 | Led global private markets businesses (direct lending, private placements, infra debt, structured finance, alternatives, real estate) |
| Barings LLC | Head of U.S. Public Fixed Income | 2019–2021 | Responsible for Investment Grade group; member of global IG allocation committee |
| Barings LLC | Head of U.S. High Yield | 2017–2021 | Led U.S. High Yield; member of global HY allocation committee |
| Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo) | Vice President, Leveraged Finance | Pre‑2008 | Originated leveraged loans/high‑yield bonds supporting corporate and PE issuers |
| U.S. Air Force | Officer | Prior to financial services | Military leadership |
| Telecommunications sector | Various roles | 7 years | Industry/operator experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barings BDC, Inc. | Director | Since 2020 | BDC advised by Barings |
| Barings Capital Investment Corporation | Director | Since 2021 | BDC advised by Barings |
| Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund | Trustee | Since 2020 | Closed‑end fund advised by Barings |
| Barings Funds Trust | Trustee | 2020–2021 | Open‑end fund advised by Barings until 2021 |
Board Governance
- Independence: Classified as an “Interested Trustee” due to current Barings employment; nominated in 2025 as Interested Trustee for a three‑year term .
- Committees: Audit, Governance, and Nominating Committees are comprised exclusively of Independent Trustees—Mihalick is not a member of these committees .
- Board leadership and oversight: Chairman is an interested person (Clifford M. Noreen); lead Independent Trustee is Maleyne M. Syracuse (designated since Oct 2019) .
- Audit Committee Financial Expert: Barbara M. Ginader (Chair) designated as financial expert; Audit Committee held four meetings in 2024 .
- Attendance: In 2024 the Board held six regular meetings, and each Trustee attended at least 75% of Board/committee meetings; all Trustees attended the May 16, 2024 Annual Meeting . In 2023 the Board held five regular meetings; each Trustee attended at least 75% .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2024 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cash retainer from MCI | None | Interested Trustees receive no compensation from MCI; Barings pays compensation/expenses of interested Trustees per the advisory contracts |
| Cash retainer from MPV | None | Same treatment at MPV |
| Total from Fund Complex (MCI/MPV table) | None | Reported as “None*” for Mihalick |
| Prior year (2023) MCI cash | None | Reported as “None*” for Mihalick |
| Prior year (2023) MPV cash | None | Reported as “None*” for Mihalick |
- Independent Trustee fee context (for benchmarking): $18,794 per quarter (MCI) and $12,431 per quarter (MPV) in 2024; Audit Chair and Lead Independent each received an additional $1,250 quarterly per Trust; interested Trustees do not receive these fees .
Performance Compensation
- Equity awards: No director equity grants (RSUs/PSUs/DSUs) disclosed for interested Trustees; Trustees do not receive pensions/retirement benefits from the Trusts .
- Performance metrics: None disclosed for Trustees (no EPS/TSR/ESG targets tied to director pay) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Relationship to MCI | Role | Potential Interlock/Conflict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barings BDC, Inc. | Barings‑advised BDC | Director | Shared adviser (Barings) with MCI may create advisory interlocks |
| Barings Capital Investment Corporation | Barings‑advised BDC | Director | Shared adviser (Barings) |
| Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund | Barings‑advised closed‑end fund | Trustee | Shared adviser (Barings) |
| Barings Funds Trust (past) | Barings‑advised open‑end funds | Trustee (2020–2021) | Shared adviser (Barings) |
- Governance context: Barings is MCI’s investment adviser; its ultimate parent (MassMutual) may be deemed a >5% beneficial owner of MCI via a $30,000,000 senior fixed‑rate convertible note due 11/15/2027, convertible into shares at MassMutual’s option—introducing potential parent‑level conflicts across adviser and capital structure .
Expertise & Qualifications
- 20+ years in financial services across high yield, investment grade, private assets, and global investments; extensive fixed income leadership roles at Barings .
- Degrees: B.S. (USAFA), M.S. (University of Washington), M.B.A. (Wake Forest) .
- Prior leveraged finance origination experience; prior military and telecom operating background .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Dollar Range of Shares in MCI | Dollar Range of Shares in MPV | Aggregate Dollar Range in Family of Investment Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| David M. Mihalick | None | None | None |
| David M. Mihalick (prior year) | None | None | None |
- Ownership guidelines: Independent Trustees must invest one year’s worth of Trustee fees (excluding committee fees) in Trust shares with a three‑year phase‑in; this requirement applies to Independent Trustees and is not indicated for interested Trustees .
Governance Assessment
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Independence and conflicts: Mihalick is not independent; he is an Interested Trustee due to his executive role at Barings, MCI’s investment adviser—this is a structural conflict because he serves on the board overseeing the adviser providing services to the Trusts. Independent‑only committees (Audit, Governance, Nominating) and a lead Independent Trustee provide mitigants, but he does not sit on these oversight committees .
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Alignment: Reported as owning no shares of MCI or MPV (Dollar Range “None”), and no Trust‑paid compensation—limited direct economic alignment with public shareholders from MCI board service; interested Trustees’ compensation/expenses are paid by Barings under the advisory contracts .
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Engagement: Attendance met at least the 75% threshold with six regular meetings in 2024, and all Trustees attended the 2024 Annual Meeting—indicates baseline engagement .
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Related‑party context: MassMutual (Barings’ ultimate parent) may be deemed a >5% beneficial owner via a convertible note—investors should monitor potential adviser/parent influence across capital structure and corporate actions .
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RED FLAGS
- Not independent (Interested Trustee due to Barings role) .
- No share ownership reported (Dollar Range “None”) as of record dates .
- Advisory/parent interlocks: multiple directorships at Barings‑advised vehicles and MassMutual convertible ownership in MCI .
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Other observations
- Section 16(a) compliance note: In 2024, Form 3s for MCI and MPV were inadvertently filed late for David Mihalick (and Joseph Evanchick), per the Trust’s disclosure .
- Say‑on‑pay: No say‑on‑pay or shareholder compensation vote disclosures found for MCI; no relevant 8‑K Item 5.07 filings were identified in 2023–2025 [ListDocuments: none].
Overall, governance signals for investors: limited alignment via zero reported share ownership and advisory interlocks merit monitoring; independent‑only committees and a designated lead Independent Trustee are positive structural mitigants, and attendance meets threshold expectations .