Marc Cardella
Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) at Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund
Executive
About Marc Cardella
Marc Cardella serves as Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund (JQC), with service since 2024 and year of birth 1984 . He is Senior Managing Director and Head of Public Investment Finance at Nuveen, holds senior roles at Teachers Advisors, LLC and TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC, is a Managing Director at Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and TIAA SMA Strategies LLC, and serves as Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and Treasurer of TIAA Separate Account VA‑1 and the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) . The Funds have no employees and officers serve without compensation from the Funds; the proxy does not disclose TSR, revenue or EBITDA metrics tied to Cardella’s compensation at the Adviser level .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen | Senior Managing Director; Head of Public Investment Finance | Not disclosed | Oversees public investment finance across Nuveen’s fund complex, supporting fund financial operations and controls . |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Not disclosed | Senior leadership at affiliated registered adviser for TIAA‑advised funds, contributing to finance and governance across products . |
| TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Not disclosed | Senior leadership at TIAA‑CREF IM overseeing investment management finance functions . |
| Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) | Managing Director | Not disclosed | Executive role at TIAA supporting finance and fund administration . |
| TIAA SMA Strategies LLC | Managing Director | Not disclosed | Executive role overseeing finance/admin for separately managed accounts strategies . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) | Principal Financial Officer; Principal Accounting Officer; Treasurer | Not disclosed | Principal finance, accounting, and treasury oversight for large retirement investment vehicles . |
| TIAA Separate Account VA‑1 | Principal Financial Officer; Principal Accounting Officer; Treasurer | Not disclosed | Principal finance, accounting, and treasury oversight for variable annuity separate account . |
Fixed Compensation
- Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; the Chief Compliance Officer’s compensation is paid by the Adviser, and the Funds reimburse an allocable portion of CCO incentive compensation. No fund‑level disclosure of base salary/bonus for officers, including Cardella, is provided .
Performance Compensation
- No disclosure of performance metric linkages (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR) to Cardella’s compensation at the Adviser level in the proxy; fund officers are not compensated by the Funds .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| JQC common shares outstanding (record date Feb 18, 2025) | 135,609,290 |
| Board Members and executive officers as a group – beneficial ownership in JQC | 2,714 shares |
| Group ownership as % of JQC outstanding | Less than 1% (each Fund’s Board Members and executive officers as a group beneficially owned <1% of outstanding shares) |
| Individual holdings disclosed for Cardella | Not individually itemized in proxy (group total presented) |
| Section 16(a) compliance | Funds report compliance with filing requirements in last fiscal year |
| Pledging/hedging of company stock | Not disclosed in proxy |
Employment Terms
| Term Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) |
| Service start date | Since 2024 |
| Term length and election | Officers are elected annually by the Board to serve until successors are elected and qualified; term listed as indefinite in officer table |
| Fund‑level compensation | Officers serve without any compensation from the Funds |
| Employer | Nuveen/TIAA affiliates (Nuveen; Teachers Advisors, LLC; TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC; TIAA; TIAA SMA Strategies LLC) |
| Severance/change‑of‑control provisions | Not disclosed at the Fund level |
| Employment contract, non‑compete/non‑solicit | Not disclosed at the Fund level |
| Section 16 filings | Funds state compliance by Board Members and officers |
Investment Implications
- Alignment and ownership: Individual officer holdings are not itemized; the group of Board Members and executive officers owns 2,714 JQC shares, less than 1% of outstanding shares, limiting clear visibility into Cardella’s direct “skin‑in‑the‑game” at the fund level .
- Compensation transparency and selling pressure: Officers are compensated by the Adviser (not the Funds), and the proxy does not disclose base pay, bonus targets, equity awards, vesting, or clawbacks for Cardella, reducing visibility into potential performance alignment or future selling pressure .
- Role significance: Cardella’s principal finance role spans Nuveen/TIAA fund complexes (including CREF and VA‑1), indicating central influence on finance controls and reporting across multiple vehicles, which supports operational execution but provides limited direct trading signals for JQC absent disclosed incentive metrics .
- Governance and compliance: Section 16(a) filings were in compliance per the Funds’ review, suggesting timely reporting and lower regulatory red‑flag risk from disclosure lapses, though no data is provided on pledging/hedging policies for officers .