Thomas Kenny

About Thomas J. Kenny

Independent Board Member (Class I) of Nuveen California Municipal Value Fund (NCA); appointed to the Fund’s Board effective January 1, 2024; nominee to serve through the 2028 annual meeting if elected. Born 1963; B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara; M.S., Golden Gate University; Chartered Financial Analyst. Former Co‑Head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Global Cash and Fixed Income Portfolio Management team; currently Director and Chair of the Finance & Investment Committee at Aflac Incorporated. All current trustees, including Mr. Kenny, are deemed independent under the 1940 Act and have never been employees or directors of TIAA/Nuveen or affiliates.

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Independence: The Board states Mr. Kenny and all nominees are not “interested persons” under the 1940 Act and have never been employees/directors of TIAA/Nuveen or affiliates; treated as Independent Board Members.
• Tenure on NCA Board: Appointed January 1, 2024; currently a Class I nominee to serve through the 2028 annual meeting if elected.
• Committee assignments (member unless noted):
  • Executive Committee (members: Young (Chair), Kenny, Nelson, Toth)
  • Dividend Committee (Thornton (Chair), Lancellotta, Kenny, Nelson, Starr)
  • Compliance, Risk Management & Regulatory Oversight Committee (Wolff (Chair), Forrester, Kenny, Medero, Moschner, Toth)
  • Nominating & Governance Committee (Young (Chair) and all independent trustees, including Kenny)
  • Investment Committee (all independent trustees including Kenny; Co‑Chairs Boateng, Lancellotta)
  • Closed‑End Funds Committee (Moschner (Chair), Kenny, Nelson, Starr, Thornton, Wolff, Young)
  • Not on Audit Committee (members: Nelson (Chair), Boateng, Lancellotta, Starr, Thornton, Wolff, Young; designated audit committee financial experts include Boateng, Nelson, Starr, Young).
• Attendance: Each Board Member attended 75% or more of Board and committee meetings during the last fiscal year.

NCA Board and Committee Meetings – Last Fiscal Year

Fixed Compensation

• Structure effective January 1, 2025 (Independent Board Members):
  • Annual retainer: $350,000; Committee membership retainers—Audit and Compliance: $35,000 each; Investment: $30,000; Dividend, Nominating & Governance, Closed‑End Funds: $25,000 each; Chair retainers—Board Chair: $150,000; Audit and Compliance Chairs: $35,000; Investment Chair/Co‑Chair: $30,000; Dividend, Nominating & Governance, Closed‑End Funds Chairs: $25,000; Ad hoc meeting fees: $1,000 or $2,500 depending on length/immediacy; Special assignment committees: Chair/Co‑Chair quarterly from $1,250; members quarterly from $5,000. Fees allocated across fund complex.
• Deferred Compensation Plan available for Independent Board Members; distributions can be lump sum or paid over 2–20 years; value tracked to selected Nuveen funds; the Funds have no retirement or pension plans.

Performance Compensation

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• Fixed income and cash management leadership (Co‑Head GSAM Global Cash & Fixed Income PM team) and senior buy‑side experience.
• Governance and fund complex oversight across 200+ portfolios (portfolio count overseen stated as 220 in Fund Complex table).
• Education and credentials: B.A. (UCSB), M.S. (Golden Gate University), CFA charterholder.

Equity Ownership

Related-Party/Conflict Considerations

• Investments in entities advised by firms under common control with the Adviser: Through the Thomas Joseph Kenny 2021 Trust and KSHFO, LLC 4, Mr. Kenny held interests valued at $34,063 (Global Timber Resources LLC), $523,049 (Global Timber Resources Investor Fund, LP), $770,200 (TIAA‑CREF Global Agriculture II LLC), and $681,237 (Global Agriculture II AIV (US) LLC) as of June 30, 2025; Mr. Kenny owns 6.60% of KSHFO, LLC. The Adviser and the investment advisers to these companies are indirectly commonly controlled by Nuveen.

Governance Assessment

• Strengths

  • Independent trustee with deep fixed income and portfolio management expertise relevant to NCA’s municipal income mandate.
  • Broad committee engagement (Executive, Dividend, Compliance, Nominating & Governance, Investment, Closed‑End Funds), indicating substantive involvement in oversight (audit oversight rests with separate committee).
  • Attendance at or above 75% threshold for Board and committee meetings in the last fiscal year, supporting engagement.

• Watch Items / Potential Red Flags

  • Related‑party exposure via investments in vehicles advised by entities under common control with the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA); while disclosed and relatively small in dollar amounts, this can present perceived conflicts; continued monitoring of recusal and compliance processes warranted.
  • Ownership alignment: governance guideline expects one year of compensation invested; individual aggregate dollar range disclosed as “Over $100,000” without precise amount—insufficient to confirm guideline compliance; further detail would clarify alignment.
  • Committee workload and external commitments (e.g., Aflac board and chairing its Finance & Investment Committee) require ongoing assessment to ensure capacity remains sufficient.

• Other Governance Signals

  • Independent Board Chair structure (Robert L. Young) enhances independence; Audit Committee led by an independent chair with multiple designated “financial experts.”
  • Section 16(a) reporting: Funds report compliance by trustees and officers with filing requirements during the last fiscal year.