Joseph Boateng

About Joseph A. Boateng

Independent Board Member of Nuveen Municipal Credit Opportunities Fund (NMCO); born 1963; appointed to the Nuveen Funds boards in 2024 (fund-complex service since 2019 via TC Funds), with Independent status under the 1940 Act and no employment history with TIAA or Nuveen . Chief Investment Officer of Casey Family Programs since 2007; prior Director of U.S. Pension Plans at Johnson & Johnson (2002–2006); education: B.S. University of Ghana, M.B.A. UCLA; oversees 213 portfolios within the fund complex .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Independence: All nominees and current Board Members, including Boateng, are “Independent Board Members” (not “interested persons”), with no employment or director roles at TIAA or Nuveen or affiliates .
• NMCO Committee assignments and chair roles:
  • Audit Committee member .
  • Nominating & Governance Committee member .
  • Investment Committee Co-Chair (with Amy Lancellotta) .
  • Not listed on Executive, Dividend, Compliance, or Closed-End Fund Committees .
• Tenure and class: For NMCO, Boateng is a Class II Board Member with term expiring at the 2026 annual meeting (continuing Board Member) .
• Attendance: Each Board Member attended 75% or more of Board and committee meetings in the last fiscal year .
• NMCO meeting cadence (last fiscal year): Regular Board 5; Special Board 7; Executive Committee 5; Dividend Committee 8; Compliance Committee 4; Audit Committee 14; Nominating & Governance 7; Investment Committee 3; Closed-End Fund Committee 4 .
• Board leadership: Independent Chair is Robert L. Young .

Fixed Compensation

• Structure (Independent Directors; effective dates and amounts):

• Actual compensation paid (last fiscal year; NMCO fiscal year-end October 31, 2024):

• Other compensation features:
  • No fund retirement or pension plans for directors .
  • Deferred Compensation Plan available; distributions can be lump sum or over 2–20 years; deferrals notionally track selected Nuveen funds .

Performance Compensation

• No performance-based compensation (no stock awards, options, COI-linked metrics) is disclosed for directors; compensation is via retainers, committee roles, and meeting-related fees .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

• No public company directorships for Boateng are disclosed in the proxy .

Expertise & Qualifications

• CIO experience overseeing institutional portfolios and pension plans; extensive governance exposure across investment entities .
• Education: B.S. (University of Ghana); M.B.A. (UCLA) .
• Committee experience includes Audit, Nominating & Governance, and Investment (Co-Chair), indicating risk, compliance, and performance oversight exposure .
• Not designated as an “audit committee financial expert” (designation in Audit Committee given to Moschner, Nelson, Starr, and Young) .

Equity Ownership

• Board alignment principle: Each Board Member is expected to invest (directly or deferred) at least the equivalent of one year of compensation across the fund complex .
• Pledging/hedging: Not disclosed; Section 16/30(h) filings compliant in last fiscal year .

Governance Assessment

• Strengths:

  • Independent status and no TIAA/Nuveen employment/affiliation history; positive for board objectivity .
  • Co-Chair of the Investment Committee and member of both Audit and Nominating & Governance Committees, signaling direct involvement in performance oversight, valuation/compliance, and board composition .
  • Attendance threshold met (≥75% of meetings); NMCO held substantial committee activity including 14 Audit Committee meetings and 7 Nominating & Governance meetings, indicating robust engagement opportunities .
  • Deferred compensation and complex-wide investment expectation support alignment mechanisms, even without fund-specific equity grants .

• Watch items / RED FLAGS:

  • No NMCO share ownership reported (dollar range $0; 0 shares), which may weaken “skin-in-the-game” optics at the fund level despite complex-level holdings .
  • Compensation escalated materially from 2023 structures to higher fixed retainers and increased committee/Chair fees as of January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025, potentially raising pay-for-governance scrutiny absent performance linkage for directors .
  • Not designated an “audit committee financial expert,” which may limit technical accounting oversight credentials relative to other committee members, though he remains on the Audit Committee .
  • Unitary board structure and very broad complex oversight (213 portfolios) can stretch attention; effectiveness depends on committee rotation and process quality (Board notes diversity and rotation benefits) .

• Related-party exposures:

  • No related party transactions for Boateng are disclosed; table of outside holdings in adviser-related private vehicles highlights another director (Thomas J. Kenny), not Boateng .
  • Consulting arrangements apply to certain other Nuveen funds (Core Plus Impact, Multi-Asset Income, Real Asset, Multi-Market Income, Variable Rate Preferred & Income), not NMCO; these are compensated by those funds via consulting agreements .

• Compliance and shareholder oversight signals:

  • Section 16(a)/30(h) filings: the Funds report compliance by Board Members, officers, Adviser, and affiliates during the last fiscal year .
  • Auditor appointments and Audit Committee pre-approval policies are described; NMCO uses KPMG for the current fiscal year; no material auditor financial interests with the Funds or Adviser .