Ami G. Kaplan
About Ami G. Kaplan
Independent Director of Neuberger Berman Next Generation Connectivity Fund Inc. (NBXG) since 2023, with a 40-year career in financial services as a partner at a large professional services firm, including roles as Vice Chair and Deputy New York Regional Managing Partner; a member of the New York and New Jersey State Societies of CPAs; and experienced working with global financial services clients. She is nominated as a Class II Director for a term running to the 2028 annual meeting, with election by NBXG common stockholders. Background emphasizes finance, compliance, and governance acumen; education and age are not disclosed in the proxy.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large professional services firm (unnamed) | Partner; Vice Chair; Deputy New York Regional Managing Partner | 40 years | Led/served in multiple leadership posts; worked with global financial services clients (finance, audit, governance exposure) |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York State Society of CPAs | Member | Professional association | CPA community leadership/standards exposure |
| New Jersey State Society of CPAs | Member | Professional association | CPA community leadership/standards exposure |
| Various not-for-profit boards (unspecified) | Board roles (various) | Non-profit | Governance experience; specific entities not disclosed |
Board Governance
| Area | Detail |
|---|---|
| Board classification | Classified board (Class I/II/III); Kaplan is Class II for NBXG, term to 2028 if elected |
| Independence status | Independent Director (also, committees she serves on are composed solely of Independent Directors) |
| Committee roles (NBXG) | Chair, Ethics & Compliance Committee (4 meetings in FY2024); Member, Closed-End Funds Committee (7 meetings in FY2024); Member, Executive Committee (0 meetings in FY2024); Member, Investment Performance Committee (4 meetings in FY2024) |
| Audit Committee membership | Not a member; Audit Committee members are Cosgrove (Chair), Goss (Vice Chair), McLean, Nakasone (7 meetings in FY2024) |
| Attendance | Each Director attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings in FY2024 (Board met 4 times) |
| Board leadership | Independent Chair of the Board (Tom D. Seip); Independent Chair structure with regular executive sessions without management |
| Annual meeting attendance | No policy requiring attendance; no Board members attended the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | Amount | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregate compensation from NBXG | $11,054 | Fiscal year ended Oct 31, 2024 |
| Total compensation from Neuberger Berman fund complex | $270,000 | Calendar year 2024 |
Compensation structure for Independent Directors (fund complex-wide):
- Annual retainer: $200,000, paid quarterly (effective Jan 1, 2024)
- Regular meeting fee: $17,500 per regularly scheduled Board meeting attended (effective Jan 1, 2024)
- Committee chair fees: $25,000 per year for committee chairs other than Contract Review (CRC Chair $35,000); effective Jan 1, 2025; Executive Committee Chair receives no additional pay
- No additional compensation for committee membership beyond chair fees; no pension/retirement plan for Directors
Observation: Kaplan’s 2024 total complex compensation ($270,000) is consistent with the $200,000 retainer plus four regular meeting fees at $17,500 each; the Board met four times in FY2024. This suggests full participation in regularly scheduled meetings.
Performance Compensation
- No performance-based compensation, stock awards, or option awards are disclosed for Independent Directors; compensation is structured as cash retainer and meeting fees with incremental chair stipends beginning in 2025. No additional compensation for committee service apart from chair fees is provided.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- No current public company directorships are disclosed for Kaplan in the proxy biography; not-for-profit board roles noted but entities not specified.
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial services leadership (40-year tenure) with executive roles (Vice Chair, Deputy NY Regional Managing Partner) at a major professional services firm, indicating audit, risk, compliance, and governance expertise relevant to fund oversight.
- CPA professional affiliations (NY and NJ societies), reinforcing financial literacy and compliance orientation; currently chairs Ethics & Compliance Committee.
Equity Ownership
| Security | Dollar Range Owned | As-of Date |
|---|---|---|
| NBXG common stock | None | May 31, 2025 |
| NBH common stock | None | May 31, 2025 |
| Aggregate dollar range across all NB-registered investment companies overseen | None | May 31, 2025 |
Related conflict check:
- To the Funds’ knowledge, as of May 31, 2025, no Independent Director (or immediate family) owned securities of NBIA (manager), any principal underwriter, or their control affiliates—reducing related-party exposure risk.
Governance Assessment
Strengths
- Independent director with deep financial services, audit, and compliance background; serves as Chair of Ethics & Compliance (4 meetings in FY2024), a critical risk-oversight role for a registered investment company.
- Committee workload indicates active engagement across compliance, fund-specific issues (Closed-End Funds Committee), investment oversight (Investment Performance Committee), and crisis-readiness (Executive Committee).
- Attendance threshold met (≥75%) with Board meeting cadence of four per year, supporting engagement and continuity.
- Compensation structure is transparent, primarily cash-based, and scaled to meeting participation; added chair stipends effective 2025 align with extra responsibilities.
Watch items / potential investor confidence considerations
- No NBXG share ownership disclosed (dollar range “None”); while common for fund boards, lack of “skin in the game” may be viewed by some investors as weaker alignment versus director ownership guidelines at operating companies.
- No Board members attended the 2024 annual meeting; although there is no attendance policy, some governance observers view annual-meeting presence as a positive signal of shareholder engagement.
- Not on the Audit Committee; while not a deficiency, investors focused on financial reporting oversight may weigh Audit Committee experience differently (Kaplan’s leadership is in Ethics & Compliance rather than Audit).
Conflict screening
- No ownership in NBIA or underwriters by Independent Directors (including Kaplan) and no related-party transactions involving Kaplan are disclosed, mitigating conflicts-of-interest concerns.
Term and election
- Kaplan is nominated as a Class II Director for NBXG, with the term running to the 2028 annual meeting; NBXG common stockholders vote on her election.