Michael Garland

Assistant Comptroller – Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment

Michael Garland is Assistant Comptroller for Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment for New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. The Comptroller serves as investment advisor, custodian and a trustee to the New York City Pension Funds, which have nearly $200 billion in assets under management and a long history of active ownership on issues of corporate governance and sustainability.

Michael and his team are responsible for developing and implementing the Funds’ active ownership programs for public equities, including voting proxies at approximately 11,000 portfolio companies around the world; engaging portfolio companies on their environmental, social and governance policies and practices; and advocating for regulatory reforms to protect investors and promote sustainable capital markets. Recent initiatives include spearheading the Boardroom Accountability Project launched in fall 2014, which has helped to establish proxy access as a fundamental right at hundreds of U.S. companies.

Michael serves on the Council of Institutional Investors’ Board of Directors, where he is Public Fund Co-Chair; the Broadridge Independent Steering Committee; and the Grant & Eisenhofer ESG Institute Oversight Board. He also serves as Comptroller Stringer’s designated representative to the board of directors of CERES, a non-profit that works with investors, companies and capital market influencers to take stronger action on the world’s biggest sustainability challenges.