Reda began his executive compensation consulting career in 1987 at The Bachelder Group, a prominent firm led by compensation attorney Joseph E. Bachelder III. He worked at The Bachelder Group for nine years, advising top management and corporate boards on executive pay and governance issues. In the late 1990s, Reda held senior consulting roles at major human resources and benefits firms – notably serving as a principal at Buck Consultants and as a senior manager at Arthur Andersen LLP, where he further developed his expertise in executive compensation and corporate governance. In 2004, Reda founded his own advisory firm, James F. Reda & Associates, LLC, based in New York City . The firm provided independent executive compensation and corporate governance consulting services, assisting both publicly traded and private companies in designing pay programs, incentive plans, change-in- control arrangements, and other reward strategies. Under Reda’s leadership, the firm gained a reputation for its proprietary research and high-quality advice, and in 2009 it was cited by a Conference Board task force as one of the top independent executive compensation consulting firms in the U.S. In February 2011, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a global insurance brokerage and consulting company, acquired James F. Reda & Associates as part of its expansion into executive pay consulting. Reda took on the role of Managing Director and Executive Compensation Practice Leader at Gallagher, where he oversees services related to executive pay strategy, incentive plan design, employment agreements, and corporate governance for clients nationwide. As of 2025, he has over 30 years of experience in the field and remains a senior leader in Gallagher’s compensation consulting practice. Throughout his consulting career, Reda has been recognized as an authority on executive compensation and corporate governance. He has testified before the United States Congress on issues of executive pay; in December 2007, he spoke to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about the independence of compensation consultants and potential conflicts of interest in setting CEO pay <. Reda is frequently quoted in the financial media on CEO compensation trends and policies. For example, during the 2008 financial crisis he commented on proposed limits to banking executives’ bonuses, arguing that “Congress should nudge the free market, not bludgeon it” with overly harsh pay caps. He has provided expert commentary in outlets such as The New York Times, Forbes, and
USA Today on topics ranging from pay-for-performance to Wall Street bonus practices. Beyond client work and media commentary, Reda has contributed to professional organizations and academia in his field. He is a member of the
National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and served as chair of the NACD’s Atlanta chapter. In 2003, he was appointed to the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Executive Compensation, which issued influential guidelines on the role of board compensation committees. In addition, he has been involved with his alma mater Columbia University, sitting on the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board of Columbia’s engineering school since 2007 to mentor and support emerging business leaders. == James F. Reda & Associates ==