First American Funds Board of Directors

The First American Funds Board of Directors is 100% independent, with five directors headed by Mark Gaumond. Mr. Gaumond has served as the independent chair of the board since 2020, having joined the board in 2016. As chair of the First American Funds’ board, Mr. Gaumond leads the board in all aspects of its responsibilities, including those relating to oversight of the funds, governance, compliance, and shareholder relations.

First American Funds' directors have four regularly scheduled meetings each year and hold additional meetings, as necessary.

Audit Committee - The Audit Committee is chaired by David Baumgardner and also includes Mark Gaumond, Jennifer McPeek, C. David Myers and P. Kelly Tompkins. Among the committee's responsibilities are:

  • Overseeing the funds' accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and internal controls;
  • Reviewing the funds' financial statements and independent audit;
  • Acting as a liaison between the funds' independent auditors and the Board of Directors; and
  • Selecting and evaluating the funds' independent auditors.

Governance Committee - The Governance Committee is chaired by P. Kelly Tompkins and also includes David Baumgardner, Mark Gaumond, Jennifer McPeek and C. David Myers. The committee has a number of responsibilities, including overseeing:

  • Board composition;
  • Committee structure;
  • Director education; and
  • Governance practices (including the periodic review of published industry "best practices").
Mark E. Gaumond

Mark E. Gaumond

Chair, First American Funds Board

Mark E. Gaumond has served as independent chair to the First American Funds Board of Directors since 2020, having joined the Board in 2016.

Prior to his retirement in 2010 from Ernst & Young, Mark held numerous executive leadership positions including senior vice-chair of Americas and managing partner of the San Francisco office.

Mark currently serves as a director of Booz Allen Hamilton Corporation Inc. and the Walsh Park Benevolent Corporation. He formerly served as director of Rayonier, Inc., Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc. and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. and as trustee of The California Academy of Sciences.

Mark holds an A.B. from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from New York University Stern School of Business.

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

David Baumgardner

David Baumgardner

Director, First American Funds Board; Chair of the Audit Committee

David "Dave" K. Baumgardner joined the First American Funds Board in 2016 as an independent director. He currently chairs the audit committee. 

Prior to his retirement in 2022, Dave was chief financial officer of Smyth Companies, LLC and held numerous executive positions within the last 29 years with the company. He previously held a senior management position with the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firm Taylor McCaskill & Company.

Dave has previously served as a trustee for the Graphics Arts Industry Joint Pension Trust and as chairman of the Printing Industry of Minnesota Financial executives committee. He serves as trustee and chairman of the GCIU Local 1B Health and Welfare Fund.

He is a CPA and holds a B.A. in accounting and an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas.

Jennifer McPeek

Jennifer McPeek

Director, First American Funds Board

Jennifer J. McPeek joined the First American Funds Board in 2019 as an independent director.

Jennifer has more than 20 years of executive experience in the financial services industry. Jennifer was previously chief financial officer of Russell Investments, and served prior to that as chief operating officer and chief strategy officer of Janus Henderson Group plc. Prior thereto, Jennifer held numerous executive leadership positions, including executive vice president and chief financial officer at Janus Capital Group Inc.

Jennifer has also held directorships on various investment advisor and/or trust entities. She currently serves as director for Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

Jennifer holds a B.A. in mathematics and economics from Duke University, an M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

C. David Myers

C. David Myers

Director, First American Funds Board

C. David "Dave" Myers joined the First American Funds Board in 2019 as an independent director.

Dave has more than 20 years of executive experience in the areas of construction, global commercial transportation and finance. Dave previously served as President of Building Efficiency of Johnson Controls, Inc., a global diversified technology and industrial company. Prior thereto, he served in several executive positions, including president, chief executive officer and chief financial officer at York International Corporation.

Dave currently serves as a director at each of The Manitowoc Company, Inc. and The Boler Group. He also serves as operating director of AE Industrial Partners LLC and chairman of Industrial HVAC-R portfolio, a subset of AE Industrial Partners LLC.

Dave holds a B.S. in accounting from Pennsylvania State University and a Certified Public Accountant designation.

P. Kelly Tompkins

P. Kelly Tompkins

Director, First American Funds Board; Chair of the Governance Committee

P. "Kelly" Tompkins joined the First American Funds Board in 2019 as an independent director. He currently chairs the governance committee.

Kelly has more than 20 years of executive experience in the areas of finance and law. Kelly currently serves as senior advisor at Dix & Eaton, a regional investor and public relations advisory firm, and leader-in-residence at Cleveland State College of Law. Kelly has also been appointed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to serve as a Trustee on the Cleveland State University Board of Trustees for a term ending May 1, 2031. Kelly is also a board member of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation and chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee.

Prior thereto, Kelly held numerous executive leadership positions at two NYSE-listed companies including executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc, and executive vice president and chief financial officer at RPM International, Inc.  Kelly has also served as chief legal officer and board secretary at both companies.

Kelly holds a B.A. from Mercyhurst University and a J.D. from Cleveland State College of Law.