Former Thompson IM Funds chair Patricia Lipton is set to retire this spring after 15 years as an independent trustee of a board that oversees three funds with a total of $1.8bn under management.
The board announced in a Dec. 27 proxy filing that Lipton had decided to retire from the board when her current term runs out, rather than stand for re-election.
Lipton chaired the board from 2018 to 2021, after joining in 2007. Prior to that, she spent more than two decades at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, which she led as its executive director from 1989 to 2004.
Her departure will leave the board with three independent directors: Cornelia Boyle, 69; Joyce Minor, 56; and chair George Austin, 70.
Boyle and Minor, who were appointed to the board in 2015 and 2019, respectively, will stand for election for the first time at board’s Feb. 23 shareholder meeting.
Jason Stephens, CEO of fund adviser Thompson Investment Management, Inc. (TIM) is currently the board’s only interested member. The board has asked shareholders to approve the addition of TIM CIO James Evans as a second interested director.
TIM’s CCO is Colleen Donnelly, who added the CCO’s responsibilities to her role as CFO in May of 2022, after former CCO Dara Biederman left to join Rayliant Global Advisors less than two months after being promoted to the post.
The board, which oversees the $1.59bn Thompson Bond Fund, the $147m Thompson LargeCap Fund, and the $50m Thompson MidCap Fund, has an audit committee and a nominating committee.
Total compensation for independent directors ranged from $51,000 and $76,500 for the fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2022.
TIM is a Madison, Wis.-based independent registered investment adviser that offers portfolio management, retirement planning and mutual fund services.
- Independent director, Thompson IM Funds, 2007 – 2023
- Executive director, State of Wisconsin Investment Board, 1989 – 2004
- Assistant executive director, State of Wisconsin Investment Board, 1982 – 1989
