MutualFundWire.com: He Picked Sullivan, and Now He's On Legg's Board
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Thursday, June 6, 2013

He Picked Sullivan, and Now He's On Legg's Board


What a tangled web we weave in this industry.

Legg Mason [profile] has named two new people to its board of directors, to replace members who are retiring.

The new directors are John Murphy and John Myers.

Murphy's credentials include serving as a former chair of the Investment Company Institute and as CEO and chairman of OppenheimerFunds.

Myers, meanwhile, is the retired president and chief executive of GE Asset Management. According to a press statement, the firm grew from $20 billion in assets under management in 1986 to $200 billion when he retired in 2006. Since his retirement Myers has served as a senior advisor with Angelo, Gordon & Co., a $25 billion privately-held investment advisor dedicated to alternative investing.

They are succeeding Dennis Beresford and Nicholas St. George, who are retiring from the board next month.

There is at least one other interesting detail to note about Murphy though, which you can find from perusing this SEC Filing. Until the end of last year, Murphy was an employee of the executive search firm Korn/Ferry, which conducted the search for a new chief executive of Legg Mason following the resignation of Mark Fetting. We all know that that search led to Sullivan's appointment.

What the SEC filing reveals is that Murphy took part in the search that led to Sullivan's appointment.

Here are the details from Legg's 8-k filing:

Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
(d) On June 5, 2013, the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Legg Mason, Inc. (the "Company") elected John V. Murphy and John H. Myers to serve, effective immediately, as independent directors of the Company, increasing the size of the Board from 14 to 16. Messrs. Murphy and Myers will serve as members of the class whose term expires at the 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Messrs. Murphy and Myers will be compensated as non-employee directors in accordance with the Company's non-employee director compensation policies and the Non-Employee Director Equity Plan as described in the Company's 2012 Proxy Statement. Mr. Murphy is a former employee of Korn/Ferry International ("Korn/Ferry"), an executive search firm that the Board retained during fiscal year 2013 to help identify a Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Murphy worked on the engagement; however, the engagement had no effect on Mr. Murphy's compensation from Korn/Ferry. In connection with that engagement, Legg Mason paid approximately $900,000 to Korn/Ferry for services provided in fiscal year 2013. Mr. Murphy left Korn/Ferry on December 31, 2012, prior to joining our Board.

The filing also reveals that the Board appointed Murphy to serve on the Company's Audit and Compensation Committees and Myers to serve on the Company's Nominating & Corporate Governance and Risk Committees.


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