John Buckel, 68, the longtime president, principal executive officer, trustee and board chair of the Trust for Professional Managers, has resigned from his positions with the Trust after serving it for more than 13 years.
Buckel’s retirement from the board, which became effective Apr. 17, 2025, was part of a more sweeping decision that included his retirement from his role as VP at fund administrator US Bancorp Fund Services, where he worked for more than 21 years.
His departure from the board triggered a series of other changes, including the appointment of the Trust’s first independent chair of the board of trustees.
Erik Olstein, 58, who joined the board in 2022, began his three-year term as its new chair on Apr. 18.
Olstein previously served as president and COO of Olstein Capital Management, where he worked for 20 years before retiring in 2020.
Buckel’s exit also left several officer roles vacant, prompting the firm to adjust the roles under which the officers now operate.
Jennifer Lima, 51, has now taken over Buckel’s position as president and principal executive officer of the Trust; Kelly Strauss, 38, has now taken over Lima’s previous role as VP, treasurer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer.
Even three new appointments didn’t fill Buckel’s shoes completely; his position as the sole interested trustee on the board remains vacant, for now, reducing the overall size of the board to six..
The Trust declined to comment on whether or not it planned to nominate another interested trustee to fill that seat.
Following Buckel’s exit, the board now comprises a group of six independent trustees, including the board’s new chair, Olstein, 58; Michael Akers, 70; Gary Drska, 69; Vincent Lyles, 64; Lisa Zúñiga Ramírez, 56; and Gregory Wesley, 56.
The Trust’s CCO is Deanna Marotz, 60, who has served in the position since 2021.
The board maintains two standing committees: an audit committee and a nominating committee, comprising each of the Trust’s independent trustees.
Akers serves as the chair of the audit committee, and Ramírez serves as the audit committee’s financial expert, while the nominating committee doesn’t have a chair.
The Trust’s independent trustees received compensation ranging from $140,250 to $146,500 for the fiscal year ending Feb. 28, 2025.
However, the Trust has recently updated the board’s compensation figures, under which each director will now receive an annual retainer of $115,000 for their participation on the board, an additional $6,500 for each board meeting the director attends and an extra $1,000 for each special board meeting attended.
Members of the audit committee will now receive an additional $2,000 for each meeting attended, and the chair of that committee, Akers, will also now receive an annual additional retainer of $10,000.
In addition to this, Olstein, following his appointment as the new chair of the Trust in April, will also receive an additional $10,000 annual retainer for his role as chair.
Trustees and officers serve indefinite terms on the board, with no specific mandatory age of retirement. The Trust for Professional Managers is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based series trust founded in 2001, reported overseeing a total of 31 portfolios as of Jun. 25, 2025.
