Marc Cardella
Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) at Nuveen California Quality Municipal Income Fund
Executive
About Marc Cardella
Marc Cardella (born 1984) serves as Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) of Nuveen California Quality Municipal Income Fund (NAC), with an indefinite term and length of service since 2024. He is Senior Managing Director and Head of Public Investment Finance at Nuveen and holds senior roles across Nuveen Fund Advisors, Nuveen Asset Management, Teachers Advisors, and TIAA-CREF Investment Management; he also serves as Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, and Treasurer for TIAA Separate Account VA‑1 and the College Retirement Equities Fund. Officers of the Fund receive no compensation from the Fund (compensation is at the adviser), and the Fund disclosed no performance- or TSR-linked pay constructs for officers.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen | Senior Managing Director; Head of Public Investment Finance | Past 5 years (current as of filing) | Leads public investment finance for Nuveen’s fund complex; finance leadership supporting fund operations |
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of filing) | Senior leadership role at the adviser overseeing fund-related finance activities |
| Nuveen Asset Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of filing) | Senior leadership across asset management affiliate |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of filing) | Senior leadership across TIAA fund adviser affiliate |
| TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of filing) | Senior leadership across investment management affiliate |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) | Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of filing) | Executive role within TIAA enterprise supporting investment platforms |
| TIAA SMA Strategies LLC | Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of filing) | Executive role supporting SMAs and related investment offerings |
| TIAA Separate Account VA‑1 | Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, Treasurer | Past 5 years (current as of filing) | Principal finance leadership for TIAA variable annuity account |
| College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) | Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, Treasurer | Past 5 years (current as of filing) | Principal finance leadership for CREF |
Fixed Compensation
- Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; officer compensation is paid by the Adviser (Nuveen) and not disclosed in the Fund’s proxy. The Fund reimburses the Adviser only for an allocable portion of the CCO’s incentive compensation (context on compensation flow).
Performance Compensation
- The Fund did not disclose any officer-specific bonus metrics, PSU/RSU targets, option awards, or pay-for-performance structures for officers, consistent with officers being employed and compensated by the Adviser rather than the Fund.
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | As of | Value/Status |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership of NAC common shares | 2024-12-02 event date (Form 3 filed 2024-12-03) | No securities beneficially owned (Form 3) |
| Derivative securities (options, RSUs) in NAC | 2024-12-02 | None reported (Table II blank) |
| Reporting relationship | 2024-12-02 | Officer: VP and Controller (PFO) |
| Pledging/hedging disclosures | 2024-12-02 | Not disclosed in Form 3; no beneficial ownership reported |
Implications:
- With zero reported NAC ownership and no fund-level officer compensation, direct NAC pay-for-performance alignment appears limited; alignment and incentives reside at the Adviser level, which is not detailed in NAC filings.
Employment Terms
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Title and role | Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) |
| Term of office | Indefinite; officers elected annually by the Board |
| Length of service | Since 2024 (officer of a Nuveen fund since 2024) |
| Compensation arrangements with Fund | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds (paid by Adviser) |
| Contract terms, severance, change-of-control | Not disclosed in Fund filings (officer is employed by Adviser) |
Investment Implications
- Alignment: No NAC share ownership reported and no fund-level officer compensation reduces direct alignment with NAC minority shareholders; any incentive levers sit within Nuveen/TIAA compensation programs (not publicly detailed in NAC filings). This suggests limited fund-level pay-for-performance alignment signals tied to NAC outcomes.
- Selling pressure: With no NAC securities reported, insider selling pressure from Cardella is currently de minimis.
- Retention risk: Employment, compensation, and severance economics likely sit at the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA). Retention and incentives—key for continuity in the PFO role—are not visible to NAC shareholders via fund filings, creating transparency limitations around retention risk and change‑of‑control economics at the fund level.
- Governance comfort: Officers are appointed annually; Cardella’s role as PFO began in 2024, and he holds extensive finance leadership roles across the TIAA/Nuveen fund complex, indicating deep platform integration and continuity across affiliated funds.