Ronald Tanemura
About Ronald Tanemura
Ronald Tanemura (born 1963) is a Class I independent director of Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. (TSLX), serving since March 2011 with a current term expiring at the 2027 annual meeting; he sits on the Audit, Compensation, Nominating & Corporate Governance, and Risk Management Committees, bringing extensive financial markets expertise to the board . He holds an A.B. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley and previously led credit derivatives and fixed income businesses at major financial institutions; the board has formally determined he is independent under NYSE and 1940 Act standards, and no director fell below the 75% attendance threshold in 2024 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman, Sachs & Co. | Advisory Director and Partner; Global Co-Head of Credit Derivatives; member of FICC Risk Committee and Firmwide Credit Policy Committee | 2000–2006 | Senior risk and credit oversight; derivatives leadership |
| Deutsche Bank | Fixed income leadership roles | 1996–2000 | Led fixed income businesses |
| Salomon Brothers | Fixed income roles | 1985–1996 | Fixed income execution and leadership |
| ICE Clear Credit (Chicago) | Non-executive director | 2012–2019 | Oversight at clearing subsidiary of ICE |
| ICE Clear Europe (London) | Non-executive director | 2009–2019 | Oversight at clearing subsidiary of ICE |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Since | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (post-reorganization) | Director | 2012 | Ongoing board service post-reorganization |
| Talcott Resolution Life Insurance Company | Director | 2021 | Insurance sector governance |
| Sixth Street Lending Partners | Trustee | 2022 | Fund complex affiliation within TSLX complex |
Board Governance
- Independence: The board determined Tanemura (and other listed directors) qualifies as independent under NYSE rules and is not an “interested person” under Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act .
- Meetings and attendance: The board met four times in 2024; no incumbent director attended fewer than 75% of board and committee meetings .
- Committee chairs: Audit (Chair: Judy Slotkin), Compensation (Chair: John Ross), Nominating & Corporate Governance (Chair: Richard Higginbotham), Risk Management (Chair: Joshua Easterly) .
| Committee | Tanemura Role | Committee Chair | 2024 Meetings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit | Member | Judy Slotkin | 8 |
| Compensation | Member | John Ross | 3 |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance | Member | Richard Higginbotham | 1 |
| Risk Management | Voting Member | Joshua Easterly | 4 (held jointly with full board) |
Governance practices: The company maintains a SOX Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and Corporate Governance Guidelines; no material changes or waivers were reported for executive officers, and procedures exist for stockholder communications to directors . Related-party transactions are reviewed quarterly by the board under compliance procedures and annual questionnaires, with restrictions via the Code of Ethics .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual retainer (Independent Directors) | $110,000 (2024) | Increased to $125,000 for year beginning Jan 1, 2025 |
| Board meeting fee | $2,500 per board meeting attended | Cash |
| Monthly telephonic update meeting | $1,500 per meeting | Cash |
| Committee meeting fee | $1,000 per committee meeting attended | Cash |
| Committee chair fees | Audit Chair $15,000; Nominating Chair $10,000 (per year) | Not applicable to Tanemura (not a chair) |
| Name | 2024 Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Ronald Tanemura | $142,500 | $142,500 |
Performance Compensation
- No director performance-based compensation metrics or equity awards are disclosed; independent directors’ compensation for 2024 is presented only as cash fees in the proxy table . The company reports it has no equity compensation plans and does not grant options, with no timing policies for equity awards applicable .
| Performance Metric | Target/Structure | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Director equity awards (RSUs/PSUs) | Not disclosed; no equity plan/options noted | Not disclosed |
| Option awards | Not applicable; company does not grant options | Not applicable |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Relationship to TSLX | Potential Interlock/Conflict Consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Sixth Street Lending Partners | Same fund complex (“Fund Complex”) | Board independence maintained; Tanemura deemed not an “interested person” |
| Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. | Unrelated external role | No related-party transaction disclosed |
| Talcott Resolution Life Insurance Company | Unrelated external role | No related-party transaction disclosed |
The board expressly evaluates potential conflicts arising from external management fee structures (fees based on gross assets paid to the Adviser) when considering capital actions (e.g., issuing below NAV), concluding benefits to stockholders outweigh detriments, with the decision made by a “required majority,” including independent directors .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep credit markets and derivatives expertise; prior leadership of global credit derivatives at Goldman Sachs and extensive fixed income leadership across Deutsche Bank and Salomon Brothers .
- Governance experience in financial market infrastructure via non-executive directorships at ICE Clear Credit and ICE Clear Europe .
- Technical education in Computer Science (A.B., UC Berkeley), supporting risk oversight and quantitative rigor .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding | Pledged as Collateral |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Tanemura | 86,516 | 0.09% | None indicated in proxy footnotes |
Notes: Percentage based on 93,964,358 shares outstanding at March 31, 2025 . Footnotes identify pledging for other insiders (Easterly, Fishman, Stiepleman, Stanley), but not for Tanemura .
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Tanemura’s broad committee participation (Audit, Compensation, Nominating, Risk Management) and independence strengthen oversight across financial reporting, director pay, governance principles, and capital/risk planning; committees were active in 2024 (Audit: 8; Risk Management: 4; Compensation: 3; Nominating: 1), and overall attendance met governance expectations .
- Alignment: Personal share ownership of 86,516 shares (~0.09%) with no pledging disclosed provides skin-in-the-game without leverage-related red flags .
- Compensation structure: Cash-heavy director pay with known retainers and meeting fees; retainer increase to $125,000 in 2025 is modest and transparent; no equity or performance linkage for directors is disclosed, reducing risk of misaligned incentives but also limiting long-term equity alignment .
- Conflicts/related party: As a BDC with an external adviser, fee-based conflicts are structural; the board documents pre-approval and quarterly review processes for related-party transactions and explicitly weighed adviser fee impacts when recommending below-NAV issuance authority, using a “required majority” framework to mitigate conflicts .
- RED FLAGS: None apparent specific to Tanemura—no attendance issues, no pledging, no related-party exposure disclosed; broader structural external management fee considerations persist but are actively overseen by independent directors .