William T. Meyers
About William T. Meyers
William T. Meyers (born 1966) serves as an Interested Trustee of the XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund (NYSE: MCN), having joined the Board in 2024 with a current Class III term running through the 2026 annual meeting . He brings over 35 years of investment management experience, including roles as President of Riivendell Financial Group, Senior Advisor at XA Investments (the Fund’s Adviser), and senior leadership positions at Nuveen entities . He is classified as “interested” due to his prior advisory role at XA Investments .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riivendell Financial Group, LLC | President | 2021–present | Investment management leadership |
| XA Investments, LLC | Senior Advisor | 2021–2023 | Advisory to closed-end funds platform |
| Nuveen Securities, LLC; Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director | 2017–2020 | Distribution/advisory leadership |
| Nuveen | Senior Vice President | Not disclosed | Senior investment management role |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | No other public company directorships disclosed |
Board Governance
- Status and tenure: Interested Trustee; Class III term continuing until the 2026 annual meeting; year of birth 1966 and trustee since 2024 .
- Committee assignments: No committee memberships; the Audit and Governance Committees are comprised solely of Independent Trustees (Cupps, Dingens, Franklin, Jones) .
- Chair roles: Gregory G. Dingens is the independent Board Chair; Scott Craven Jones chairs Audit (and is designated the Audit Committee Financial Expert); Philip G. Franklin chairs Governance .
- Independence and structure: Board has a supermajority of Independent Trustees (4 of 5), uses independent counsel, and Independent Trustees meet outside management’s presence .
- Meetings and engagement: In FY 2024, the Board held six meetings; Audit five; Governance six. Trustees are invited to attend annual meetings of shareholders .
- Board reset context: Meyers joined via the October 15, 2024 special meeting approving a newly constituted board aligned to the XAI Funds platform transition .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total compensation from Fund Complex (FY 2024) | $60,000 | Aggregate trustee compensation across the Fund Complex (3 funds) |
| Aggregate compensation from MCN (FY 2024) | None | Fund-level compensation not accrued/paid |
| Annual retainer policy (effective Jan 1, 2025) | $66,000 | Applies to trustees not employed by Adviser/affiliates; allocated across funds |
| Additional chair fees (policy) | Audit Chair: $17,500; Board Chair: $10,000; Governance Chair: $5,000 | Committee membership limited to Independent Trustees |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Disclosure | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash bonus | Not disclosed | Proxy details a cash retainer; no bonus plan disclosed |
| Equity awards (RSUs/PSUs/Options) | Not disclosed | No director equity grants disclosed in trustee compensation section |
| Performance metrics tied to pay (e.g., TSR, EBITDA) | Not disclosed | No performance-linked director pay metrics disclosed |
| Clawbacks/Change-of-control for directors | Not disclosed | No director-specific clawback/CoC terms disclosed |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Committee roles | Overlap/Conflict notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | No interlocks or shared directorships with competitors/suppliers disclosed |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Over 35 years in investment management and distribution, including senior roles at Nuveen entities and advisory work at XA Investments, indicating deep experience in closed-end fund operations, governance, and market distribution .
- Current leadership of an investment firm (Riivendell) underpins financial/regulatory/investment acumen cited by the Board as qualifying attributes .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Owned | Dollar Range (MCN) | Aggregate Dollar Range (Family of Investment Companies) | Ownership % of MCN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William T. Meyers | 0 | $0 | $10,001–$50,000 | 0.000% (0 of 21,116,722 shares) |
- Trustees and officers as a group owned less than 1% of MCN as of December 31, 2024 .
- No pledging/hedging or option holdings disclosed for Meyers; no vested/unvested breakdown disclosed .
Governance Assessment
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Positive signals:
- Board supermajority independence, independent Chair, and committees limited to Independent Trustees with independent counsel and executive sessions enhance oversight quality .
- Audit governance includes a designated financial expert (Jones) and formal charters; clean auditor independence statements and routine pre-approval policies reinforce controls .
- Transition structured under 1940 Act Section 15(f) safe harbor with expense limitation agreement and continuity of portfolio management, supporting shareholder protections during adviser change .
-
Concerns and potential red flags:
- Independence: Meyers is an Interested Trustee due to prior advisory affiliation with XA Investments, the Fund’s Adviser, which may reduce perceived independence; he holds no committee roles (committees are independent-only) .
- Ownership alignment: 0 shares owned in MCN as of 12/31/2024 may signal limited “skin in the game” versus director stock guideline frameworks (not disclosed for MCN) .
- Related-party/transactions: No director-related transactions >$120,000 disclosed for independent trustees/nominees; no specific related-party transactions disclosed involving Meyers beyond his prior affiliation status .
- Section 16 compliance: Filings completed and on time in FY 2024, but absence of insider buying/selling data limits behavioral signals (no Form 4 detail in proxy) .
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Engagement:
- FY 2024 Board (new structure effective Dec 2024) met six times; committee activity (Audit five; Governance six) indicates regular oversight cadence; director-specific attendance rates for Meyers not disclosed .