Boards Of Directors

Responding to investigations of public pension systems across the country, two members of the Los Angeles City Council called Wednesday for a reduction in Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's power to pick pension board members. Councilmen Dennis Zine and Bernard C.

Bank of America Corp. lead director O. Temple Sloan Jr., who defended Chief Executive Kenneth D. Lewis from an effort to force him out, resigned from the board Friday after 13 years. Sloan, 70, submitted his resignation to Walter E. Massey, who replaced Lewis as chairman after the April annual meeting, according to a statement from the Charlotte, N.C.-based lender. Investors at the meeting voted to split the chairman and CEO jobs.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. has nominated its largest shareholder, Mark H. Rachesky, to its 12-member board as a defensive measure against activist investor Carl Icahn, who has threatened to wage a proxy war against the movie and television studio. Rachesky, a former associate of Icahn's, would replace board member Mark Amin. Unlike Icahn, Rachesky, whose New York-based MHR Fund Management owns 19.8% of the company's common stock, has been a strong supporter of Lions Gate management.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced most members of the state Board of Registered Nursing on Monday, citing the unacceptable time it takes to discipline nurses accused of egregious misconduct. He fired three of six sitting board members -- including President Susanne Phillips -- in two-paragraph letters curtly thanking them for their service. Another member resigned Sunday. Late Monday, the governor's administration released a list of replacements.

Responding to investigations into pension systems in New York and elsewhere, a Los Angeles pension agency voted Thursday to require any company seeking business with its board to disclose campaign contributions it has made to city political candidates.

It was founded by the family that built the Happiest Place on Earth. But for many executives on the opposite side of the boardroom, Shamrock Holdings Inc. has been more like a house of horrors. A few years ago, the Burbank investment company owned by Roy E. Disney led a revolt to oust Walt Disney Co.'s then-chief executive, Michael Eisner. It not only was intensely bitter but also thrust the little-known firm into the limelight. Now it's at it again, this time agitating for change at one of the nation's largest cement makers.

The president of Los Angeles' largest employee retirement system has resigned, becoming the sixth pension appointee of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to quit over the last six months. Eric Holoman stepped down last week from the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System board after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law placing new limits on private financial work performed by publicly appointed pension board members. Holoman is president of Magic Johnson Enterprises. Assemblyman Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina)

Shamrock Holdings, the Disney family investment firm, won three seats on the board of directors of one of the nation's biggest cement makers Thursday, according to Shamrock's preliminary tally. Although the official results won't be released until next week, Shamrock executives said the early returns showed that their company won the seats on Texas Industries Inc.'s nine-member board by a 4-1 ratio. The vote took place at Texas Industries' annual shareholders meeting Thursday in Dallas.

Citigroup Inc. has nominated four new independent directors to its board in the latest move to toughen up the bank's oversight. The four will be up for election at the annual shareholders meeting in April. Citigroup's board has been widely criticized for allowing bank executives to make risky investments in the housing market and not having enough financial services experience. The candidates are Jerry A. Grundhofer, former chairman and chief executive of U.S. Bancorp; Michael O'Neill, former chairman and CEO of Bank of Hawaii; Anthony M. Santomero, a senior advisor at McKinsey & Co. and former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia; and William S. Thompson Jr., former CEO of bond fund giant Pimco.

Jamie McCourt, chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is taking a step into the art world: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced Friday that she is joining its board of trustees. LACMA board members are expected to donate at least $100,000 a year to the museum; McCourt and her husband, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, are paying left fielder Manny Ramirez more than that per game. McCourt will not be the only connection between L.A.'s baseball world and its nonprofit arts scene: Chairing the board at the Pasadena Playhouse is Michele Dedeaux Engemann, daughter of the legendary USC baseball coach, Rod Dedeaux.