Jose Minaya ’94: A Manhattan Education, A Global Impact
"In addition to being a great academic institution, Manhattan really had a nurturing environment,” he says. “I felt like they understood where I came from and really guided me."
For over 70 years, Manhattan University has hosted the De La Salle Medal Dinner, which celebrates Lasallian Catholic values and honors the notable public figures who embrace them. The 2026 ceremony will honor Manhattan University alumnus Jose Minaya ’94.
Minaya grew up in New York’s Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods, both heavily Catholic areas. He attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school. During his time at Cardinal Hayes High School, Minaya excelled as a pitcher on the varsity baseball team, attracting the attention of numerous college recruiters. In the end, he decided to enroll at Manhattan University and continue his education and baseball career there.
“Because of my religious background and the area where I lived, I had always known about Manhattan,” he says. “It felt like the right choice.”
Although Minaya had selected his college, he faced a common undergraduate dilemma: he had no idea what to choose for his major. Seeking guidance, Minaya met with the dean of the O’Malley School of Business at the time, James Suarez, to discuss his options. That meeting would have a profound impact on his life. It led him to major in finance and minor in economics, setting the stage for the successful career that would follow.
“In addition to being a great academic institution, Manhattan really had a nurturing environment,” he says. “I felt like they understood where I came from and really guided me.”
Minaya’s time at Manhattan University became defined by two different worlds: the gym, where he exercised with his baseball teammates, and the library, where he studied with his classmates.
After graduating in 1994, Minaya was accepted into the United States Marine Corps officer candidate school. He didn’t plan on applying to or interviewing for any jobs. On a last-minute whim, he decided to attend a job fair at Manhattan, where he visited the J.P. Morgan booth. Before he knew it, Minaya was working in investment banking and mergers and acquisitions for J.P. Morgan.
Despite that success, Minaya felt uncertain about his career path. Many of his colleagues were applying to graduate business schools, and he felt compelled to do the same. He was accepted to the Amos Tuck Business School at Dartmouth College, which he attended as a Robert Toigo Fellow.
Dartmouth and its New Hampshire location offered new experiences and a change in scenery for the native New Yorker.
“I became the hockey intramural team captain, even though I had never played hockey before,” he laughs.
Minaya attained an MBA in general management after two full-time years at Tuck, graduating in 2000. This time, though, he had a better sense of what he wanted to do after graduation. He no longer wanted to advise people, as he had at J.P. Morgan. And while he landed a job with a top banking team at Merrill Lynch, Minaya knew that he wanted to directly manage and build wealth for his clients instead.
He shifted to the buy side at AIG Global Investment Management Group.
In 2004, Minaya’s career really took off. He joined TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America) as a portfolio manager, helping run private markets. He climbed the corporate ladder over the years, ascending to the president of TIAA’s global real assets division. There, he developed investment capabilities across various areas, including real estate, infrastructure, and energy and led a dozen acquisitions for the company.
One of those acquisitions was Nuveen. Minaya joined Nuveen as chief investment officer in 2017, where he was responsible for delivering clients with diverse investment capabilities and solutions. He became Nuveen’s CEO in three years. During his stint as CEO, Minaya took Nuveen from $250 billion to over a trillion dollars of business and expanded its reach overseas, building a global platform that he’s extremely proud of.
Minaya enjoyed a 20-year run at TIAA, but in 2024, he felt that it was time for a change. He left Nuveen to join the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY) as the Global Head of Investments and Wealth. There, he oversees BNY’s two trillion-dollar investment and private banking businesses.
His résumé isn’t limited to asset management. He serves on the boards of multiple companies and charitable organizations, including Moody’s, the Investment Company Institute, and the Investment Committee of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. He’s also on the board of advisors at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and is chair of the Governing Board of Directors of the Robert Toigo Foundation.
In 2021, Minaya’s educational journey came full circle when he also joined the board of trustees at Manhattan University. He was recruited to the board by his fellow alumnus and the president of the New York Stock Exchange, Lynn Martin ’98.
Minaya will be honored at this year's De La Salle Medal Dinner on Thursday, March 19. The De La Salle Medal Dinner is Manhattan University's premiere fundraising event generating support for student scholarships and other forms of student aid.
“It’s extremely gratifying to be selected as an honoree,” he says. “Manhattan didn’t just give me a degree. It was always ingrained in me that education is your golden ticket. There’s a higher chance of me winning the lottery than someone with my background getting to where I’m at.”
As featured in the Fall 2025 issue of Manhattan Magazine.