Nuveen chairman steps down
- Original Chicago Tribune article: Nuveen chairman steps down
Timothy Schwertfeger, the longtime Nuveen Investments Inc. chief who last November sold the Chicago-based investment management firm in a going-private deal to buyout firm Madison Dearborn Partners, has left the company as it sought an independent director as its new chairman.
'He has retired from the firm,' a spokeswoman confirmed late Wednesday. She called the move a 'natural progression.' It wasn't related to the firm's performance and Madison wasn't pushing for it, she said.
When the deal with Madison was announced last June, Schwertfeger said he'd step down as CEO, ceding the post to President John Amboian, but would remain chairman of the Nuveen fund board.
At the time, there was no mention that he'd be leaving Nuveen within a year.
'He will continue to help shape Nuveen Investments' strategic development,' said the June 2007 statement announcing the deal between Nuveen and Madison.
But in recent letters to some of Nuveen's various funds, including Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund Inc., Nuveen Pennsylvania Premium Income Municipal Fund 2 and Nuveen Premier Insured Municipal Income Fund Inc., Schwertfeger said he was leaving the board.
'For a dozen years, it has been my privilege to communicate periodically with you through these annual and semi-annual reports about the performance and uses of your Fund,' Schwertfeger wrote in letters filed with regulators earlier this week. 'Nuveen and your fund's board determined that fund shareholders would be best served by having an independent director serve as the new chairman of the fund board.'
Schwertfeger couldn't be reached for comment late Wednesday or early Thursday.
He has been succeeded as chairman by Robert Bremner. The move was effective June 30.
'A member of the board since 1997, Bob is a management consultant and private investor not affiliated with Nuveen,' Schwertfeger wrote.
Over the years, Bremner 'has played a critical role on the fund board, most recently as the lead independent director,' he said. 'I know Bob and the other board members are determined to maintain the standards and commitment to quality that you have come to expect from your Nuveen investment.'
byerak@tribune.com
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