R. Glenn Hubbard
About R. Glenn Hubbard
R. Glenn Hubbard (born 1958) is the Independent Chair of the Board and Trustee of BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund (MPA), serving on the Fund’s Board since 2007; he was Dean of Columbia Business School from 2004–2019 and has been a Columbia faculty member since 1988 . He previously served as Chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers, and currently oversees 66 BlackRock-advised registered investment companies (100 portfolios) across the Fixed-Income Complex .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Business School | Dean; faculty member | Dean 2004–2019; faculty since 1988 | Academic leadership, finance/economics expertise |
| U.S. Council of Economic Advisers | Chairman | Not disclosed (prior service) | Macroeconomic policy; government advisory experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Timeframe | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic Data Processing (ADP) | Director | 2004–2020 | Data and information services |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Company | Director | During past five years (exact dates not disclosed) | Insurance sector oversight |
| TotalEnergies SE | Director | During past five years (exact dates not disclosed) | Multi-energy company oversight |
Board Governance
- Independence: Independent Board Member; Chair of the Board (separate from CEO) .
- Committee assignments:
- Executive Committee: Chair .
- Governance Committee: Member .
- Compliance Committee: Member .
- Performance Oversight Committee: Member .
- Board structure: 10 Board Members (8 Independent); seven standing committees; independent chairs for all committees; regular executive sessions of Independent Board Members .
- Attendance and engagement: Board met 12 times in the fiscal year ended July 31, 2024; all incumbents attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings; committee meeting counts for FY 2024 shown below .
| Committee | Meetings (FY ended 7/31/2024) |
|---|---|
| Audit | 8 |
| Governance | 6 |
| Compliance | 4 |
| Performance Oversight | 4 |
| Discount | 1 |
| Securities Lending | 2 |
| Executive | 1 |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Independent Board Member retainer | $370,000 | Paid across BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex funds; pro-rata allocation by fund |
| Chair of the Board additional retainer | $140,000 | Applicable to Hubbard as Chair |
| Governance Committee (member) | $25,000 | Member retainer (Hubbard is a member) |
| Compliance Committee (member) | $25,000 | Member retainer (Hubbard is a member) |
| Executive Committee | Not listed | No specific fee disclosed for Executive Committee |
| Total compensation from all BlackRock-advised funds (CY 2024) | $600,000 | Hubbard deferred $300,000 of this amount |
| Compensation paid by MPA (Fund-level, FY ended 7/31/2024) | $1,556 | MPA pays a pro-rata portion based on relative net assets |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | 2024 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deferred compensation elected (CY 2024) | $300,000 | Under the Fixed-Income Complex deferred compensation plan |
| Deferred compensation payable balance (as of 12/31/2024) | $5,010,835 | Earns returns as if invested in selected BlackRock funds; unfunded plan; recorded as fund liability |
The proxy discloses fixed retainers and committee fees; no director stock option/RSU/PSU grants or performance metric-linked awards are disclosed for directors .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Potential Interlock Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| ADP | Director (2004–2020) | MPA invests in municipal securities; low direct operating interlock risk |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Company | Director (past five years) | Insurance sector board experience; no related-party interest in BlackRock disclosed |
| TotalEnergies SE | Director (past five years) | Energy sector board experience; fund strategy focused on municipal bonds |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Macroeconomic and policy expertise as former Chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers; enhances governance perspective on economic issues .
- Academic leadership and finance credentials (Dean at Columbia Business School; visiting professorships at Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and University of Chicago) .
- Public company board experience (ADP, MetLife, TotalEnergies) adds cross-industry governance insight .
- Fund-complex knowledge from long-standing service across BlackRock closed-end funds .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Security | Shares | % of Outstanding | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R. Glenn Hubbard | MPA Common Shares | 0 | 0% (12,949,630 common shares outstanding as of 5/19/2025) | |
| Aggregated holdings across funds overseen (Common Shares and share equivalents) | Family of investment companies | Over $100,000 (aggregate dollar range) | Not applicable |
As of April 30, 2025, all Board Members and executive officers as a group owned less than 1% of MPA’s outstanding shares .
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Independent Chair structure, independent committee chairs, regular executive sessions, and seven standing committees indicate robust oversight architecture . Attendance thresholds were met by all incumbents in FY 2024 (≥75% across Board/committees), supporting engagement .
- Committee impact: Hubbard chairs the Executive Committee and sits on Governance, Compliance, and Performance Oversight—positions central to board composition, compliance oversight, and investment performance review .
- Compensation and alignment: Compensation is predominantly fixed cash with optional deferral into fund-equivalent returns; Hubbard deferred $300,000 in 2024 and had a $5.01M deferred balance at year-end 2024, which links his economics to fund outcomes within the complex . However, he owns no MPA common shares, which may be viewed as weaker single-fund “skin in the game” despite complex-level exposure .
- Shareholder dynamics and signals: Activist ownership (Saba 13D at 14.73% of common shares) and standstill agreements with Karpus (effective until May 3, 2027) and Saba (effective until post-2027 annual meeting or Aug 31, 2027) suggest active governance engagement and negotiated stability in near-term proxy cycles .
- Conflicts and controls: No delinquent Section 16(a) reports; proxy does not disclose related-party transactions involving Hubbard; Independent Board Members and their immediate family members had no interest in BlackRock or its control affiliates as of April 30, 2025 .
RED FLAGS
- Zero direct ownership in MPA common shares (alignment risk at the individual fund level) .
- High oversight load (66 RICs/100 portfolios) may raise capacity considerations for deep engagement across all funds .
- Ongoing activist presence (Saba; standstills) highlights governance scrutiny; continued monitoring of discount mitigation and performance oversight is warranted .