Deals and People April 7, 2006

CalSTRS Re-elects Chair and Vice-Chair for Another Term

April 7, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The board of the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) re-elected Carolyn Widener as Chair and Dana Dillon as Vice-Chair for the 2006 term.
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Widener, an English professor at West Los Angeles College, has served as a board member since 2001, according to a CalSTRS announcement. She represents community college faculty and staff, and currently serves on the Benefits and Services Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Board Governance Committee and the Investment Committee.

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Dillon is a middle school language arts and social science teacher with the Weed Union Elementary School District, the announcement said. She currently serves on the Audits and Risk Management Committee and the Investment Committee and chairs both the Benefits and Services Committee and Board Governance Committee.

The officer positions are for a one year term although the members’ terms are for a total of four years.

Administration April 6, 2006

MassMutual Slapped with Subpoena after Declining O'Connell Documents Demand

June 16, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - After MassMutual Financial Group refused a state of Massachusetts request for documents about recently fired CEO Robert O'Connell's alleged misconduct, the company has now been hit with a state subpoena for the material.
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Secretary of State William Galvin sent the subpoena to MassMutual on Wednesday after company officials refused to turn over the O’Connell material, Galvin spokesman Brian McNiff told Reuters. Not only that, according to Reuters, Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly is probing “serious allegations of wrongdoing” at the company while state Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler is also investigating.

MassMutual on June 2 said it fired O’Connell “due to certain issues, subject to his rights under his employment contract.” O’Connell said he intended to exercise those rights. According to published reports, O’Connell’s alleged misconduct included making improper transactions in an investment account, using a company jet for personal trips, and accepting a Florida condominium (See   Report: MassMutual Chief Charges Included Retirement Account Improprieties ).  

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The Springfield, Massachusetts-based company, which is owned by policyholders and not publicly traded, also said it created a five-person Office of the CEO to focus on the company’s strategic direction and operations. MassMutual created the office two weeks after it fired O’Connell.

In  a Web statement , MassMutual said its Office of the CEO will be comprised of: Stuart Reese, its new CEO; Roger Crandall, chief investment officer; Howard Gunton, chief financial officer; John Murphy, CEO of OppenheimerFunds Inc., and Matthew Winter, head of the individual insurance group.

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