NYC Comptroller Hires Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Director

The New York City Comptroller’s office has named Taffi Ayodele as its director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and emerging manager strategy for city’s Bureau of Asset Management.

“Diversity is a proven strength in business, driving value creation and economic growth. It is also critical for securing a just, thriving and equitable economy,” New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said in a statement ahead of the 2022 Annual Diverse and Emerging Managers Conference. “We are committed to expanding our work with [minority and women-owned business enterprises] and emerging investment managers. The hiring of Taffi Ayodele and this week’s conference are important steps forward toward that goal.”

Ayodele will be tasked with leading the comptroller office’s strategy to expand engagement with and allocations to minority and women-owned business enterprises, as well as with emerging investment managers for the five New York City Retirement Systems.

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“New York City is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse cities in the world,” Ayodele said in a statement. “The public sector beneficiaries of our $250 billion pension system reflect this diversity and so should the asset managers who are hired to invest on their behalf.”

Ayodele joins the comptroller’s officer from Harpia Asset Management, a minority-owned real estate investment and development firm, where she was most recently a principal. Prior to Hapria, Ayodele co-founded Thando Holdings in 2014, a fashion and technology company that focused on creating a global platform for African artists and their fashion products.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Ayodele was also a principal for more than 11 years at TW Advisory, a New York-based boutique small business advisory practice. She also previously served as director of the Office of Executive Initiatives at the New York State Dormitory Authority, the state’s public finance and construction authority. There, she is credited with developing diversity programs and initiatives to broaden procurement opportunities and increase the use of women- and minority-owned businesses in financial and professional services.

Ayodele started her career at Blaylock Van, the longest continuously operating African American investment banking and financial services firm on Wall Street. She earned a BA in economics from New York University and an MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.