Antonio Villaraigosa, former L.A. mayor, takes Banc of California advisory job

As his first job after leaving office earlier this month, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has taken a post with Banc of California, an Irvine-based company. In a part-time position, he will advise chief executive officer Steven Sugarman and the bank's board of directors, officials said Tuesday.

Villaraigosa has connections to the six-member board of directors through philanthropy and business relationships. Two of the board members ran a venture-capital company that sought to do business with the city's fire and police pension system while Villaraigosa was mayor.

The former mayor was unavailable for interviews Wednesday afternoon but expressed excitement about the new leadership role in a statement.

"It's about more than lending money; it's about extending a hand and improving lives and creating good jobs," Villaraigosa said.

Banc of California, which formally changed its name this week from Pacific Trust Bank, owns banks Pac Trust and Beach Business. The company has a total of 67 branches in five western states. Officials didn't divulge how much Villaraigosa would earn and talked in broad terms about his role at the company.

"He clearly is vested in California, and we are vested in California," said Chairman of the Board Timothy R. Chrisman. "With his background and his visibility, it's worthwhile to work with him on implementing our strategy."

Villaraigosa,

60, has kept a low profile in the weeks since he left City Hall. Earlier this year, he told reporters he was weighing a run for California governor.

Sugarman said in a statement he and Villaraigosa first met at a conference earlier this year. There was a follow-up meeting with Chrisman and board member Chad Brownstein.

Brownstein and Banc of California board member Jonah Schnel both ran ITU Ventures in the mid-2000s, a venture-capital company that worked with numerous public pension systems, including the Los Angeles fire and police pension system.

According to a 2006 Los Angeles Times story, the Los Angeles fire and police pension board considered a $5 million investment contract with ITU in 2005. Initially, the board rejected the contract. Later, Villaraigosa appointed United Food & Commercial Workers union leader Sean Harrigan to the board.

ITU contributed $3,000 to a committee controlled by Harrigan's union, according to the Los Angeles Times story. The $5 million contract was later approved.

Brownstein also serves on the board of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. Villaraigosa was the 2013 honorary co-chair and planned guest speaker at a Los Angeles Conservation Corps event this spring, said a spokeswoman for the group.

Ari Swiller, a campaign fundraiser during Villaraigosa's 2005 mayoral bid, also serves on the Conservation Corps board, and Brownstein and Swiller are both board members of Prospect Global Resources, a Denver-based potash mining company, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Politicians' penchant for landing high-profile private-sector jobs after leaving office often raises eyebrows. After exiting the White House, president Bill Clinton took a job with pal and supermarket magnet Rob Burkle's Yucaipa Companies, an private-equity firm. After running a losing mayoral run in 2001, Villaraigosa also signed on with Yucaipa.

Chrisman dismissed speculation Villaraigosa was hired because of any connections or personal favors. "We looked at the mayor's background," he said, "and saw someone who can really assist us."

dakota.smith@dailynews.com
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Source: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_23682070/antonio-villaraigosa-former-l-mayor-takes-banc-california?source=rss_viewed

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