When Lou Lazatin joined the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) as its chief executive officer in November, she had no idea her tenure would only last eight months.
The $54 billion fund fired her earlier this month after its board put Lazatin on administrative leave on May 31.
The pension plan has since launched a nationwide CEO search, placing Chief Counsel Steven Rice as its interim head. Rice, who confirmed the board’s actions with CIO, declined comment on why Lazatin was ousted as the fund’s policy bans staff from commenting on such matters.
Lazatin became CEO in November, replacing Robert R. Hill, the temporary chief during the Los Angeles fund’s hunt for Gregg Rademacher’s successor. Rademacher retired in October 2017. Hill went back to his role as assistant executive officer after Lazatin’s appointment to help with the transition.
This was Lazatin’s first stint at a public pension fund during her executive career. According to the ex-head’s LinkedIn profile, her C-suite run was previously confined to the health care industry. She last was CEO at Shriner’s Hospitals for Children of Southern California, and earlier spent eight years as president and chief of Saint John’s Health Center, where she had also reportedly been fired, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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Tags: LACERA, Lou Lazatin, Pension, Steven Rice