Keisha Audain-Pressley
About Keisha Audain-Pressley
Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer at PIMCO and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) of PIMCO’s U.S. registered funds complex, including PIMCO Dynamic Income Opportunities Fund (PDO). She has served as CCO of the Funds since 2018 (year of birth: 1975), and fund officers are not compensated by the Funds (they are paid by PIMCO), limiting fund-level visibility into cash/equity pay and performance linkage . Education includes J.D. (Syracuse University College of Law) and M.P.A. (Syracuse University Maxwell School), with prior senior compliance roles at Neuberger Berman and Lehman Brothers’ investment management division . No fund-disclosed TSR or financial performance metrics are tied to her compensation at the fund level, and as of the record date, trustees, nominees, and officers as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of each Fund’s outstanding shares .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact / responsibilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| PIMCO | EVP & Deputy Chief Compliance Officer; CCO for U.S. registered funds | 2011–Present (PIMCO); CCO of the Funds since 2018 | Leads compliance for PIMCO-sponsored U.S. funds; oversees implementation of compliance policies and reporting to fund Boards . |
| Neuberger Berman | Senior Vice President, Senior Compliance Officer | 2009–2011 | Senior compliance leadership for registered investment advisers/mutual funds . |
| Lehman Brothers (Investment Mgmt Division) | Chief Compliance Officer | n/d | CCO for investment management division; oversight of adviser compliance programs . |
| BNY Mellon | Assistant Vice President | 2000–2004 | Early-career experience in financial services (compliance/operations) . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gill St. Bernard’s School | Member, Board of Trustees | Sep 2021–Present | Independent school board role (governance experience) . |
| Syracuse University College of Law | Board of Advisors (Active Member) | Since 2016–Present | Advisory board service; alumna (J.D.) . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Fund-level disclosure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed by PDO (officers are not compensated by the Funds) | Officers who are employees of PIMCO (the Manager) are compensated by the Manager or its affiliates . |
| Target/actual bonus | Not disclosed by PDO | Paid (if any) by PIMCO; no fund-level detail . |
| Perquisites/benefits | Not disclosed by PDO | Fund proxies do not report officer benefits; Funds have no employees . |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed at fund level | — | — | — | — | — |
- PDO’s proxy does not disclose performance metrics, equity awards (RSUs/PSUs), or options for fund officers because they are PIMCO employees and not compensated by the Funds .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item / Metric | PDO value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Officers/trustees as a group beneficial ownership | <1% of outstanding PDO shares | |
| Outstanding PDO common shares (record date Feb 21, 2025) | 127,212,157.32 | |
| Number of PDO record holders (record date) | 97 | |
| Officer-level holdings or pledging (Audain-Pressley) | Not disclosed; no individual Form 4 ownership identified for her | Officers are not listed with individual holdings; she is frequently designated as attorney-in-fact on Form 4s for others . |
Notes:
- Powers of Attorney name Keisha L. Audain-Pressley as attorney-in-fact for multiple funds’ insider filings; this indicates an administrative role enabling Form 4 submissions for trustees/officers, not her own trading activity .
Employment Terms
- Term/tenure: Officers hold office “at the pleasure of the relevant Board” and until successors are chosen; may be removed with or without cause or upon disqualification .
- Employer: Officers are employees of the Manager (PIMCO); the Funds have no employees .
- Contracts, severance, and change-of-control: Not disclosed by PDO; no fund-level employment agreements, severance multiples, or CoC terms reported for officers .
- Non-compete / non-solicit / clawbacks / tax gross-ups: Not disclosed by PDO .
- Attorney-in-fact authority: Appointed in standing Powers of Attorney for insider filings across PIMCO closed-end funds including PDO .
Performance & Track Record (role-relevant)
- Compliance leadership: Longstanding CCO for PIMCO-sponsored U.S. registered funds, indicating continuity of compliance oversight since 2018 for the Funds .
- Recognition: LinkedIn lists “2019 Women in Finance Award – Excellence in Compliance” (Markets Media) .
- Fund-level TSR/financial metrics tied to her compensation: Not disclosed by PDO; officers’ compensation is determined by PIMCO, not the Fund .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Legal and compliance expertise: EVP & Deputy CCO at PIMCO; CCO of U.S. registered funds .
- Education: J.D. (Syracuse University College of Law); M.P.A. (Syracuse Maxwell School); B.A. (Syracuse University) .
- Prior experience: Senior compliance leadership at Neuberger Berman; CCO in Lehman Brothers’ investment management division; earlier experience at BNY Mellon .
Governance Context (Board-level reference for the Funds)
- Board composition: Each Fund’s Board has seven Trustees, with approximately 71% Independent Trustees; Independent Chair; five standing committees (Audit Oversight, Governance & Nominating, Valuation Oversight, Contracts, and Performance) .
- Independent Trustees’ compensation and allocation: Independent Trustees are paid by the Funds (shared across PIMCO-managed funds), but officers and Interested Trustees are compensated by PIMCO, not the Funds .
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment visibility: Because Audain-Pressley is compensated by PIMCO (not the Funds), the proxy offers no disclosure on her base, bonus, equity mix, or performance metrics; pay-for-performance linkage cannot be assessed at the fund level . For investors seeking alignment signals, board oversight of the manager and the compliance framework may be more informative than officer pay disclosures .
- Retention risk: Tenure as CCO since 2018 suggests stability in the compliance function; any Item 5.02 8-K (officer changes) would be a key watchpoint given her central role across PIMCO-sponsored funds .
- Insider trading signals: As CCO, she appears as attorney-in-fact on Form 4 filings for other insiders; spikes in filings signed under her POA do not indicate her personal trading; no individual Form 4 ownership or trades were identified for her .
- Ownership alignment: The officer/trustee group beneficially owns <1% of PDO shares, indicating limited direct economic alignment via fund share ownership; ownership of the manager (PIMCO/Allianz structure) is outside the fund’s disclosures .
- Governance oversight: With a supermajority of Independent Trustees and committee structure, investor focus should remain on board rigor in overseeing the Manager’s compliance, valuation, and contract processes that indirectly influence risk-adjusted returns .
Key sources: PDO Joint DEF 14A (Mar 12, 2025) for officer roles, tenure, compensation structure, ownership context **[1798618_0001193125-25-052894_d938147ddef14a.htm:27]** **[1798618_0001193125-25-052894_d938147ddef14a.htm:17]** **[1798618_0001193125-25-052894_d938147ddef14a.htm:4]** **[1798618_0001193125-25-052894_d938147ddef14a.htm:11]** **[1798618_0001193125-25-052894_d938147ddef14a.htm:1]**; Powers of Attorney naming Audain-Pressley as attorney-in-fact **[1798618_0002061203-25-000023_ex24.htm:1]** **[1798618_0002054387-25-000048_ex24.htm:1]**; Syracuse University bio for education and prior roles **[https://law.syracuse.edu/alumni-friends/alumni-leadership/]**; LinkedIn for external roles and award mention **[https://www.linkedin.com/in/keisha-audain-pressley-49958b13b]**; SEC EDGAR POA reference **[https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1296250/0002061203-25-000017.txt]**.