Michael G. Clarke
Chief Financial Officer and Principal Financial Officer at Columbia Seligman Premium Technology Growth Fund
Executive
About Michael G. Clarke
Michael G. Clarke (born 1969) serves as Chief Financial Officer and Principal Financial Officer (since 2009), Senior Vice President (since 2019), and Treasurer and Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer) (since 2024) of Columbia Seligman Premium Technology Growth Fund (STK). He is an employee of Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial), leading Operations & Investor Services across North America and previously globally; he has been a senior officer of Columbia Funds and affiliated funds since 2002 . The Fund’s proxy materials do not disclose officer-specific TSR, revenue, or EBITDA performance attribution; officers’ compensation is paid by the Manager and not by the Fund .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC | Senior Vice President & North America Head of Operations & Investor Services | Jun 2023–present | Oversees operations and investor services across North America; member of Board of Governors (from Jan 2024) . |
| Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC | Senior Vice President & Head of Global Operations & Investor Services | Mar 2022–Jun 2023 | Led global operations & investor services . |
| Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC | Vice President, Head of North America Operations & Co-Head of Global Operations | Jun 2019–Feb 2022 | Co-led global operations; headed North America operations . |
| Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC | Vice President – Accounting and Tax | May 2010–May 2019 | Led accounting and tax functions for funds complex . |
| Columbia Seligman Premium Technology Growth Fund (STK) | Chief Financial Officer & Principal Financial Officer | 2009–present | Principal financial leadership for the Fund . |
| Columbia Seligman Premium Technology Growth Fund (STK) | Senior Vice President | 2019–present | Senior officer of the Fund . |
| Columbia Seligman Premium Technology Growth Fund (STK) | Treasurer & Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer) | 2024–present | Principal accounting leadership for the Fund . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ameriprise Trust Company | Director | Jun 2023–present | Board role at Ameriprise affiliate . |
| Columbia Management Investment Services Corp. | Director | Sep 2024–present | Board role at distribution/operations affiliate . |
| Columbia Wanger Asset Management, LLC | Member, Board of Governors | Oct 2024–present | Governance role at affiliated manager . |
Fixed Compensation
- Fund officers who are employees of the Manager (Columbia Management/Ameriprise) are not paid by STK, and the proxy does not disclose their base salary, target bonus, or perquisites; the only officer with partial fund-paid compensation is the CCO (not Clarke) .
- Accordingly, base salary, bonus, and cash compensation specifics for Clarke are not available in STK filings .
Performance Compensation
- STK does not disclose RSUs/PSUs/options, performance metric weightings, or vesting schedules for Fund officers because they are compensated by the Manager, not the Fund .
- No officer-level incentive plan metrics (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR) tied to STK are disclosed in the proxy .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | Latest Disclosed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Directors & officers as a group – % of STK outstanding | <1% (as of Dec 31, 2024) | Individual officer holdings (including Clarke) are not itemized; only group-level disclosure provided . |
| Director dollar-range holdings (illustrative) | Ranges by director (e.g., $1–$10,000, $10,001–$50,000) | Officer holdings for Clarke not provided; directors’ ranges disclosed; deferred compensation values included in ranges where applicable . |
- The proxy provides stock ownership ranges for directors but does not itemize officers’ beneficial ownership by person; pledging/hedging by officers is not disclosed .
Employment Terms
- Officers are elected by the Board and serve at the pleasure of the Board; no employment contract, severance, non-compete, change-of-control, or clawback terms for Fund officers are disclosed in STK’s proxy .
- Clarke’s officer tenure dates at STK are disclosed (CFO/PFO since 2009; SVP since 2019; Treasurer & Principal Accounting Officer since 2024) .
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: Clarke’s pay is determined by the Manager (Ameriprise/Columbia), not STK, so there is limited direct pay-for-performance linkage to STK share outcomes; investor focus should center on the Manager’s operational effectiveness rather than STK-specific officer incentives .
- Insider selling pressure: With officers’ and directors’ group ownership under 1% and no officer-specific equity awards disclosed, insider selling pressure or option-related trading signals tied to STK appear minimal based on available filings .
- Retention risk: As an experienced operations and finance executive with longstanding roles across Columbia/Ameriprise entities, retention risk is more a function of corporate-level incentives and career trajectory at Ameriprise/Columbia than STK-specific terms; STK provides at‑pleasure appointments without disclosed severance or change‑of‑control economics .
- Governance context: Clarke is not a director; STK’s Board met five times in 2024 and utilizes independent committees, suggesting robust governance over fund operations while officer compensation remains outside the fund’s disclosure scope .