Jaynie Miller Studenmund

About Jaynie Miller Studenmund

Independent Trustee of Western Asset Inflation-Linked Income Fund (WIA) since 2004, with a term expiring in 2027; born 1954. Background includes senior operating roles in fintech and internet businesses (COO of Overture Services 2001–2004; President & COO of PayMyBills 1999–2001) and earlier EVP roles across consumer and business banking at national financial institutions (1984–1997). She serves across all core board committees and chairs the Governance & Nominating Committee, bringing business and finance expertise per the Board’s skills matrix. Education is not disclosed in the proxy.

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Independence: Classified by the Fund as an Independent Trustee (not an “interested person” under the 1940 Act); Independent Trustees constitute more than 75% of the Board.
• Committee memberships and chair roles (FY2024): Member of Audit, Executive & Contracts, Governance & Nominating (Chairperson), and Investment & Performance Committees.
• Meetings/attendance: FY2024 Board held 8 meetings; Audit 6; Governance 3; Performance 5; Contracts 2. Each Trustee attended at least 75% of meetings of the Board and committees on which they served; Trustees did not attend the 2024 annual shareholder meeting.
• Board structure: Classified board; only one class up for election annually—promotes continuity but is an anti-takeover measure that can limit shareholder influence.
• Committee charters: Audit and Governance charters available via fund website; Audit Committee members meet NYSE independence standards.

Committee Detail (FY2024)

Fixed Compensation

• Structure: Independent Trustees receive an annual retainer plus per-meeting fees; leadership positions (Board Chair and committee chairs) receive additional compensation. Specific retainer/meeting fee rates are not broken out in the proxy.

Performance Compensation

Other Directorships & Interlocks

• Current public boards: Pacific Premier Bancorp/Bank (since 2019), EXL (since 2018). Prior boards include LifeLock, CoreLogic, Pinnacle Entertainment. No disclosed shared directorships with the Fund’s investment adviser or material service providers.
• Board interlocks of the Fund (context): Michael Larson (Trustee) is Business Manager of Cascade Investment (a major shareholder); Western Asset has provided investment advice to Gates-related accounts since 1997. Ronald L. Olson is an interested Trustee due to his law firm’s services to Western Asset. These are broader board-level relationships, not attributed to Ms. Studenmund.

Expertise & Qualifications

• Board-identified skills: Business and finance expertise; experience as president, COO, and board member at multiple businesses.
• Governance leadership: Chair of Governance & Nominating, responsible for Trustee nominations and Board policy; committee requires candidates to meet specific experience and integrity criteria and limits service on public boards.
• Education: Not disclosed in proxy.

Equity Ownership

• Alignment note: All Trustees and officers as a group owned less than 1% of WIA shares as of Dec 31, 2024.

Governance Assessment

• Strengths

  • Long-tenured independent director (since 2004) with multi-committee service and chairing Governance; supports board continuity and oversight.
  • Board independence exceeds 75%; Audit Committee independence conforms to NYSE standards; charters publicly available, indicating formalized oversight.
  • Attendance meets the ≥75% threshold across Board/committees in FY2024, suggesting baseline engagement.

• Potential RED FLAGS

  • No disclosed personal ownership in WIA; while she holds >$100k across the fund family, the absence of WIA holdings may weaken direct alignment with WIA shareholders.
  • Trustees did not attend the 2024 annual shareholder meeting, which can be viewed as a negative engagement signal for some investors.
  • Classified board reduces investor ability to effect governance change quickly; anti-takeover dynamic persists.
  • Presence of interested Trustees (e.g., Olson via legal services to Western Asset) introduces potential perceived conflicts at the board level (not specific to Studenmund).

• Related-party/transactions

  • Proxy does not disclose related-party transactions involving Ms. Studenmund. Broader board relationships (Cascade/Gates, legal services) are disclosed but do not involve her directly.

• Compensation mix analysis

  • Cash-only director compensation (retainer + meeting/chair fees) without equity or performance metrics limits pay-for-performance alignment at the director level, though consistent with closed-end fund norms.

• Shareholder communications and nominations

  • Governance Committee policies detail nomination windows, qualifications, and diversity-of-skills considerations; shareholder-nominated candidates considered under Bylaws.