Walter Wilkinson Exits Gladstone Alternative Income Fund Board; George Stelljes Is Lead Trustee
Michela English now chairs the committee that helps the board set fair values for the interval fund’s portfolio, a post Wilkinson held until his exit.
October 29, 2026
Walter H. Wilkinson, Jr. has resigned as a trustee of Gladstone Alternative Income Fund, effective Oct. 22, vacating the interval fund's Lead Independent Trustee role and the chair of its Valuation Committee. On Oct. 26 the board appointed George Stelljes as Lead Independent Trustee and named Michela A. English to the Valuation Committee as its chairperson. The fund's prospectus supplement gives no reason for the resignation.
Wilkinson had served on the board since the fund's inception. He founded the venture capital firm Kitty Hawk Capital in 1980 and remained a general partner there through 2016.
His departure leaves the board with seven trustees, two of whom are interested persons of the fund under the Investment Company Act. David Gladstone serves as both chairman and chief executive officer. The fund's governance disclosures assign the Lead Independent Trustee to preside over executive sessions of the independent trustees, consult with the chairman on board and committee agendas, and act as liaison between management and the independent members.
The new lead trustee
Stelljes joined the board in 2026. He is managing partner of St. John's Capital, a vehicle for private equity investments, and from 2001 to 2013 was chief investment officer, president and a director of Gladstone Capital, Gladstone Investment, Gladstone Commercial and the fund's adviser, Gladstone Management Corporation. He also sits on the Compensation, the Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance, and the Valuation committees.
Committee changes
English, a trustee since 2024, takes over a committee charged with helping the board determine the fair value of the fund's investments in compliance with the Investment Company Act, along with the related risk management. The fund invests primarily in debt securities of established businesses and real estate holding intermediaries. John H. Outland, Anthony W. Parker and Stelljes remain on the Valuation Committee, which met four times in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026. English also continues on the Audit Committee.
The board's other three committees now have these members:
- Compensation: Outland (chair), Stelljes and Katharine C. Gorka, who joins the committee. It reviews the advisory and administration agreements and any compensation paid to affiliates of the adviser.
- Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance: Gorka (chair), Outland and Stelljes, with no replacement named for Wilkinson.
- Audit: Parker (chair), English and Outland, unchanged.
