The team at an Illinois asset management juggernaut unveiled a new diversity and inclusion initiative over the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend.

MFWire has learned that Chicago-based Nuveen [profile] has launched an inclusion and diversity council. The council is intended to bolster diversity initiatives both inside and outside the company.

Amy Musk O'Brien Nuveen Global Head of Responsible Investing

Amy O'Brien, global head of responsible investing at Nuveen, confirms in a written statement that, "the initiative has been underway for several months and is the result of action and interest expressed by [Nuveen's] employees and leaders across the organization to increase ... dialogue and drive progress towards a more inclusive culture."

"The council started to come together this past summer when our CEO, Jose Minaya, recognized the need for an employee-centered team to serve as a liaison with our executive team on the firm's global inclusion and diversity initiatives," O'Brien tells MFWire. "COVID and the social unrest as well as disparities that were laid bare by the pandemic which spotlighted inequality in many forms accelerated our desire to solidify this effort to ensure we continue driving progress towards a culture of inclusion."

The council will be led by "several executive sponsors across the firm," including O'Brien, she confirms. She notes that various Nuveen team members "have been active and engaged in inclusion and diversity discussions for years."

"While we are proud of the work we have already done in advancing our D&I efforts, we recognize there is more work to do," O'Brien states. "From recruiting and mentoring, to training and engagement, the goal of this council is to help Nuveen model the change we seek in the world, and strengthen our firm's position as a leader in workplace diversity & inclusion."

O'Brien also notes that diversity and inclusion is "a bottom line issue" for Nuveen.

"We're a global firm, our clients and stakeholders are diverse," O'Brien states. "Our ability to have diversity and part of the way we think — diversity in our philosophy and in our life experiences — is critical for us to meet our business goals." 

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