Marie Pillai
About Marie Pillai
Independent Trustee of Putnam Premier Income Trust (PPT) since 2022; born 1954. Former Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer of General Mills, Inc. (until 2019). Currently Senior Advisor at Hunter Street Partners and Specialty Leader for the Center for Board Certified Fiduciaries. Background reflects deep institutional investment and treasury expertise and fiduciary training .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Mills, Inc. | Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer | Until 2019 | Led corporate investment and treasury functions |
External Roles
| Organization | Type | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Street Partners, LP | Private investment | Senior Advisor | Asset-oriented private investment firm |
| Center for Board Certified Fiduciaries | Public benefit corp | Specialty Leader; Curriculum Committee Member | Fiduciary education and training |
| Bush Foundation | Non-profit | Investment Committee Member | Upper Midwest community-focused foundation |
| Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis | Non-profit | Finance Council & Corporate Board Member | Governance/financial oversight |
| Choice Bank | Private bank | Director | Community bank in North Dakota |
| Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis | Non-profit | Former Board Member | Prior role |
| Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota | Non-profit | Former Director | Prior role |
| University of Minnesota | Academic | Former Investment Advisory Board Member | Prior role |
Board Governance
- Independence: Identified as an Independent Trustee; Audit committee members are “independent” under Exchange Act Rule 10A-3(b)(1) and NYSE standards .
- Committee assignments:
- Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee: Member (Committee chaired by Manoj Singh) .
- Pricing Committee: Member .
- Investment Oversight Committee B: Chair .
- Attendance and engagement: In calendar year 2024, each Trustee attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings; Board held 12 meetings, Audit 13, Pricing 8, Investment Oversight Committees A and B each 5 .
- Executive sessions: Independent Trustees meet regularly in executive session; an Independent Trustee serves as Board chair .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | PPT-specific | Putnam Funds Complex | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual retainer and meeting fees | $1,022 aggregate compensation from PPT | $355,320 total from Putnam funds complex | Independent Trustees receive annual retainer plus meeting fees; reimbursed expenses |
| Deferred compensation plan | $0 payable by PPT | Plan exists for Trustees to defer compensation | No deferred amounts payable by PPT for fiscal year; plan available |
Structure: The Putnam Funds Board pays an annual retainer and additional fees per meeting; no fund-level pension benefits; expenses reimbursed .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Structure | Payouts |
|---|---|---|
| Performance-linked pay (TSR, EBITDA, revenue, ESG) | Not applicable for Independent Trustees | None disclosed |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Public/Private | Role | Potential Interlock/Conflict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choice Bank | Private | Director | No direct Putnam/Franklin affiliation disclosed |
| Various non-profit/academic bodies (above) | Non-profit/Academic | Member/Director | Governance roles; no related-party transactions disclosed |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Institutional investment and treasury leadership (General Mills CIO/Treasurer) .
- Fiduciary training and curriculum leadership (Center for Board Certified Fiduciaries) .
- Chair of Investment Oversight Committee B; active in Audit and Pricing oversight .
- Note: Audit committee financial expert designations named for Singh, Hill, and Murphy (Pillai not listed as designated expert) .
Equity Ownership
| Fund | Dollar Range | Beneficially Owned Shares | Ownership vs Outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Putnam Premier Income Trust (PPT) | $1–$10,000 | 286.8060 shares | Trustees (each and group) owned <1% of outstanding common shares (complex-wide disclosure) |
| Aggregate across Putnam family of funds | Over $100,000 | N/A | Shows broader alignment across Putnam funds |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths:
- Independent Trustee with deep capital markets and fiduciary expertise; chairs Investment Oversight Committee B, indicating leadership in portfolio oversight .
- Active committee participation (Audit, Pricing), with documented meeting cadence and ≥75% attendance in 2024, supporting engagement and effective oversight .
- Compensation is fixed fee-based (retainer and meeting fees) without performance-linked elements, aligning with best practices for independent directors to avoid management-aligned incentives .
- Alignment:
- Holds PPT shares (286.8060) and has “Over 100,000” aggregate holdings across Putnam family funds, signaling platform-level alignment though PPT-specific ownership is modest in dollar terms .
- Conflicts and Red Flags:
- No related-party transactions disclosed; audit committee independence affirmed under Rule 10A-3 and NYSE standards .
- Historical minor compliance lapse: Form 3 filing was late upon initial Trustee election in 2022 (reported in 2023 proxy) — subsequently, Section 16(a) compliance reported as met in later proxy; low-severity flag given remediation .
- Not designated as an “audit committee financial expert” (others on committee are), which is not a red flag but noteworthy for skill composition .
Overall Investor Confidence Signal: Chairing Investment Oversight Committee B and service on Audit/Pricing committees, combined with consistent attendance and independent status, supports governance quality and risk oversight. Compensation structure avoids pay-for-performance incentives, appropriate for an independent trustee, with modest PPT-specific ownership but broader complex-level holdings indicating platform alignment .