Robert Straniere retired in January after 19 years as an independent director of the RBB Fund Trust, but will continue to work with the board in an advisory capacity after being elected director emeritus.
RBB rules allow the board to elect any independent trustee to as many as three one-year terms as director emeritus after completing at least 15 years of service as a director, even those who have passed the board’s mandatory retirement age of 75, according to a May 16 RBB filing.
Directors emeritus receive 50% of the annual base compensation of a director and can consult with the board, but do not hold any voting rights and are not elected by shareholders.
RBB has two directors emeritus – Straniere, who was elected to the position in January, and former trustee Julian Brodsky,92, who was appointed emeritus after his retirement from the board in February, 2024.
Straniere, 83, still presently serves as an administrative law judge for New York City, a position he has held since 1980, and also serves as the founding partner of the Straniere Law Group. Straniere previously served as a legislator in the New York State Assembly from 1981 to 2004.
RBB has declined to comment on whether it planned to fill Straniere’s vacant seat on the board itself.
Straniere’s retirement brings the size of the board down to seven, five of whom are independent, including board chair Arnold Reichman, 76, Gregory Chandler, 58, Lisa Dolly, 58, Nicholas Giordano, 81, and Martha Tirinnanzi, 64. Interested directors include board vice chair Robert Sablowsky, 86, who has served on the board since 1991 and Brian Shea, 64, who has served on the board since 2018. The board has waived mandatory retirement for Giordano, Reichman and Sablowsky, as well as Stranier.
The trust’s CCO is Salvatore Faia, 62, who has served in the position since 2004.
The board maintains seven standing committees: an audit committee, a contract committee, an executive committee, a nominating and governance committee, a product development committee, a regulatory oversight committee and a valuation committee.
The RBB Fund Trust’s independent directors oversee a total of 72 funds and received compensation ranging from $177,250 to $397,500 for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2024.
However, since the start of 2025, the RBB Fund Trust has updated the board’s compensation, under which each director will receive an annual retainer of $225,000 for their participation on the board and an additional $15,000 for each board meeting the director attends in person.
Additionally, the chair and vice chair of the board will receive an additional $125,000 and $50,000, respectively, for their leadership of the board.
In addition to this, members will also receive extra compensation for attending committee meetings, ranging from $5,000 to $9,000, depending on the specific committee meeting they attend.
Committee chairs and vice chairs receive additional compensation for their participation on the seven boards, with extra compensation ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, depending on which committees the directors serve as chair or vice chair of.
The RBB Fund Trust, a New York-based series trust founded in 1988, reported overseeing a total of $23 billion in assets and 81 portfolios as of Jun. 30, 2025.
