Marc Cardella
Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) at NUVEEN NEW YORK AMT-FREE QUALITY MUNICIPAL INCOME FUND
Executive
About Marc Cardella
Marc Cardella is Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) of Nuveen New York AMT‑Free Quality Municipal Income Fund (NRK), serving since 2024; his business address is 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28262, and his year of birth is 1984 . He is Senior Managing Director, 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 receive no compensation from the Fund (NRK has no employees), and the proxy does not disclose Fund‑level performance metrics for officers, making pay‑for‑performance linkages at the Fund level unavailable in filings . A Form 3 filed on December 3, 2024 indicates Cardella beneficially owned no NRK securities as of December 2, 2024 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen | Senior Managing Director; Head of Public Investment Finance | Past 5 years | Finance leadership across public investment finance |
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years | Senior role within Adviser to NRK |
| Nuveen Asset Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years | Senior role within Nuveen’s asset management affiliate |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years | Senior role at TIAA affiliate |
| TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years | Senior role at TIAA investment mgmt affiliate |
| Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America | Managing Director | Past 5 years | Senior role at TIAA |
| TIAA SMA Strategies LLC | Managing Director | Past 5 years | Senior role at TIAA SMA affiliate |
| TIAA Separate Account VA‑1; College Retirement Equities Fund | Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, Treasurer | Past 5 years | Key finance/accounting stewardship for VA‑1 and CREF |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIAA enterprise affiliates (see above) | Senior/Managing Director roles; PFO/PAO/Treasurer (VA‑1 & CREF) | Past 5 years | Finance, accounting, and treasury oversight across major retirement vehicles |
Fixed Compensation
- Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; NRK has no employees .
- The Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer is paid by the Adviser with an allocable portion of incentive compensation reimbursed by the Funds; no comparable disclosure is provided for other officers (including Cardella) .
Performance Compensation
- No Fund‑level disclosure of officer performance metrics, targets, or payouts; compensation for Fund officers is not paid by NRK and is not detailed in Fund filings .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | Date | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (Cardella, shares) | 12/02/2024 | 0; “No securities are beneficially owned” (Form 3) |
| Group beneficial ownership (Board Members/Nominees and Officers as a Group, NRK shares) | 05/31/2025 | 1,000 shares |
| Group ownership as % of shares outstanding (each Fund) | 06/20/2025 | <1% of each Fund; for NRK common shares outstanding were 87,235,304 |
Additional alignment notes:
- As of June 20, 2025, each Board Member’s individual beneficial shareholdings of each Fund were <1%, and Board Members and executive officers as a group owned <1% of each Fund .
- Officers are expected to invest at least the equivalent of one year of compensation in funds only applies to Board Members; no officer ownership guideline is disclosed .
Employment Terms
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position with Fund | Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) |
| Term and election | Term: Indefinite; officers are elected by the Board annually to serve until successors are elected and qualified |
| Length of service in role | Since 2024 |
| Business address | 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28262 |
| Year of birth | 1984 |
| Compensation source | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; NRK has no employees |
| Section 16 compliance | Funds believe Board Members and officers complied with applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements during the last fiscal year |
Investment Implications
- Pay‑for‑performance visibility: Fund filings do not disclose officer‑level compensation metrics or payouts; NRK officers are compensated by the Adviser, limiting direct Fund‑level alignment assessment and reducing transparency on incentive levers (revenue/EBITDA/TSR) .
- Insider selling pressure: Cardella’s Form 3 showed zero beneficial ownership as of December 2, 2024, and no insider transactions were identified in Fund filings, suggesting minimal near‑term selling pressure from this officer .
- Equity alignment: With no personal NRK holdings reported and group ownership below 1%, direct “skin‑in‑the‑game” at the Fund level is limited; alignment likely occurs via enterprise‑level roles across TIAA/Nuveen rather than Fund‑specific equity .
- Retention/contract risk: Officers hold indefinite terms and are elected annually by the Board; no severance, change‑of‑control, or restrictive covenant disclosures for Fund officers are provided, implying retention economics reside with the Adviser rather than the Fund .