Christian Pittard

About Christian Pittard

Christian Pittard (year of birth: 1973) serves as an Interested Trustee of abrdn National Municipal Income Fund (VFL) and as a Vice President officer of the Fund. He is Head of Closed End Funds and Managing Director—Corporate Finance at abrdn, having joined abrdn (from KPMG) in 1999; he previously led abrdn’s Americas and North American funds business and the Jersey, Channel Islands business . Board tenure: Trustee since June 30, 2024; officer since 2023 . Independence: deemed “Interested Trustee” due to his position with an affiliate of the Fund’s investment adviser . Fund performance metrics (TSR, revenue/EBITDA growth) are not disclosed in the proxy; the Fund reported normal governance operations and board oversight cadence .

Past Roles

External Roles

Fixed Compensation

Trustees (independent) receive cash compensation; officers are paid by the investment adviser and receive no compensation from the Fund. Christian Pittard, as an Interested Trustee and Fund officer, received $0 compensation from the Fund.

Notes:

• “All officers of the Fund are employees of and are compensated by the Investment Adviser or its affiliates” (no Fund-paid bonus, profit sharing, pension/retirement plans) .

Performance Compensation

Not disclosed for Fund officers/trustees; the Fund does not report performance-based pay for trustees and states no bonus/profit-sharing plans at the Fund level .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

Additional alignment data:

• As of August 9, 2025, Trustees and officers, in aggregate, owned less than 1% of VFL’s outstanding equity securities .
• Christian Pittard is deemed an Interested Trustee due to his role at the adviser; no pledging or hedging disclosures were reported for him in the proxy .

Employment Terms

• Officers (including Vice President) are employees of abrdn Inc. and are compensated by the adviser; employment contracts, severance, change-of-control terms, non-compete, non-solicit, and clawback provisions are not disclosed at the Fund level .

Board Governance

• Board composition: 3 Independent Trustees and 1 Interested Trustee (Christian Pittard). Independent Trustee serves as Chair (Todd Reit) .
• Committees: Audit Committee; Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee—each comprised entirely of Independent Trustees; Christian is not listed as a member of any committee .
• Meeting cadence & attendance: FY ended Sep 30, 2024—Board (4), Audit (4), Nominating (2); each Trustee attended at least 75% of aggregate Board/Committee meetings .
• Board service history: Christian has served as Trustee since June 30, 2024; vice president officer since 2023 .
• Dual-role implications: As an Interested Trustee and Fund officer (Vice President), Christian’s independence is structurally mitigated by an independent Chair, super-majority independent board, and wholly independent committees .

Director Election Support (2025)

As of record date (Aug 5, 2025), 84.21% of common shares and 100% of preferred shares were voted, representing a quorum .

Director Compensation (Program specifics)

VFL discloses aggregate trustee compensation but not a detailed fee schedule within the proxy; committees are independent-only. Christian, as an Interested Trustee, received $0 from the Fund .

Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback

Not applicable/disclosed for this registered investment company; proxy focuses on trustee elections and audit matters .

Risk Indicators & Red Flags

• Independence: Christian is an Interested Trustee due to his adviser affiliation; mitigated by governance structure (independent Chair; independent committees) .
• Ownership alignment: No Fund share ownership reported by Christian (None) ; aggregate insider ownership <1% .
• Reporting: Section 16(a) reports timely for reporting persons for FY 2024 .
• No disclosures of pledging, hedging, tax gross-ups, or related-party transactions in the proxy sections provided .

Compensation Peer Group / Consultant Use

Not disclosed for trustees beyond aggregate compensation; Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee periodically reviews trustee compensation levels .

Expertise & Qualifications

• Credentials: Long-tenured abrdn corporate finance and closed-end funds leadership; cross-market transaction execution in US and UK .
• Board qualification: Listed fund expert by virtue of head of closed-end funds role; no specific education degrees disclosed in proxy; joined abrdn from KPMG .

Work History & Career Trajectory

• abrdn: Joined 1999 (from KPMG); progressed through regional leadership roles (Americas, Jersey) to Head of Closed End Funds and MD—Corporate Finance .

Compensation Committee Analysis

• VFL’s committees are independent-only; no compensation committee at the Fund level for executive pay, as Fund officers are compensated by the adviser .

Equity Ownership & Alignment (Detail)

Employment Terms (Detail)

Investment Implications

• Alignment: Christian holds no reported Fund equity, and aggregate insider ownership is <1%—a modest alignment signal; however, his re-election received strong support (≈96% “For” of votes cast), indicating shareholder confidence in governance continuity .
• Independence & oversight: Dual role (Interested Trustee and Fund officer) is counterbalanced by an independent Chair and committees comprising only independent trustees, which mitigates governance risk and potential conflicts .
• Trading signals: No insider selling pressure or pledging disclosed; trustee cash compensation is immaterial to Fund economics; the vote results and stable committee structure point to low near-term governance disruption risk .
• Retention risk: Long tenure at abrdn and ongoing leadership across the closed-end funds platform suggest low immediate retention risk; specific employment/severance economics are not disclosed at the Fund level .