Executives

The Tuesday ouster of Harry Sloan as chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. underscores the continued turmoil at the debt-ridden independent studio since it was taken over by private equity owners five years ago. MGM, which is struggling to refinance its $3.7-billion bank loan, will be overseen by a newly created "office of the CEO," composed of production head Mary Parent, Chief Financial Officer Bedi A. Singh and Stephen F. Cooper, a...

Over a May 15 lunch at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, William Morris Agency Chairman Jim Wiatt received sobering advice from his close friends, entertainment attorney Skip Brittenham and former Viacom Inc. executive Tom Freston. The more than century-old talent agency was on the cusp of merging with hotshot rival Endeavor, and it was becoming clear that there would be no place at the table for Wiatt.

President Obama moved Wednesday to rein in the pay of executives whose companies get taxpayer bailout money -- putting a $500,000 cap on annual compensation, limiting "golden parachutes" to departing bigwigs and requiring corporate boards to adopt policies on luxury expenditures such as lavish entertainment and parties.

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to pay $33 million to settle allegations that it misled shareholders by indicating that Merrill Lynch & Co. would not pay year-end bonuses -- when in fact the bank had already approved up to $5.8 billion in payments. Federal regulators, who brought the suit against BofA, said the episode occurred as shareholders were considering the bank's proposed acquisition of Merrill Lynch last year.

The campaign to clamp down on executive pay is getting an assist from an unusual source: the head of Wall Street's most powerful investment bank. Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said Tuesday that the financial industry needed a "renewal of common sense" and pay standards to "discourage selfish behavior, including excessive risk-taking."

Some important questions can't be asked without sounding crass and insensitive. But there's no way around asking this one that's on everybody's mind, so here goes: What is Apple Inc.'s plan if Chief Executive Steve Jobs dies? The question of Jobs' health has been a live discussion thread since he announced in August 2004 that he had undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer. When Apple announced a few weeks ago that -- for the first time since his return to the Cupertino, Calif.

Would you like an espresso and a biscotti to go with your Milk Duds? Reaching outside the insular movie theater business, AMC Entertainment Inc. named Gerardo Lopez, a former executive at Starbucks Corp. and Seattle's Best Coffee, as chief executive. He succeeds Peter Brown, who is retiring after 19 years with the Kansas City, Mo., movie theater chain. Lopez also has been a manager at Frito-Lay, Pepsi-Cola and Procter & Gamble Co.

The Oprah Winfrey Network has a new favorite thing: longtime marketer Christina Norman, who was hired Thursday as chief executive. Norman spent 17 years with Viacom Inc.'s MTV cable empire before stepping down last year as MTV president. Before that, she ran its sister channel, VH-1. As chief executive of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, Norman, 45, will oversee the business and programming functions for the TV channel and Internet site. Although Winfrey and Discovery Communications Inc.

Only the Clippers, it seems, could be involved in a fight in which a fair outcome is unattainable, and a rooting interest is impossible. It's Elgin Baylor suing Donald Sterling, a fallen general manager charging the falling owner of being racist and cheap, allegations that apparently occurred to Baylor only after working there for more than two decades. One cannot pick sides, only emotions. Sadness comes to mind. How do you back an owner who is now fighting two lawsuits accusing him of racism?

One of the first executives hired at OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is not going to live her best life with Winfrey after all. The network announced that Robin Schwartz, president of OWN, resigned Monday. Schwartz joined OWN in July as programming chief after wowing the media maven/taste-maker during her job interview. Schwartz, the former president of Regency Television, helped open the channel's offices in Los Angeles and set up its program development process.