Category: Board News

Each year in July, the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners elects its Officers of the Board to serve one-year terms. On July 20, 2023, the Board elected Sumi Parekh as President and Garrett Zimmon as Vice President.

As President, Commissioner Parekh will exercise the following duties:

• Approve the Board agenda; preside at all Board meetings, ensure that meetings are conducted in an efficient manner and in accordance with the City Charter and Administrative Code, applicable public meeting laws, and relevant Board policies;
• Determine who will act as spokesperson for the System should the need arise; and,
• Approve the travel expenses incurred by the General Manager and the Board.

As Vice President, Commissioner Zimmon will assume the duties of the Board President when the President is absent or if the President should delegate the Vice President to act. The Vice President will also assume the duties of the President if the President becomes unable to carry out their duties.

Congratulations to Commissioners Parekh and Zimmon as they begin their new roles with the Board!

Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions (LAFPP) is pleased to welcome new Chief Investment Officer Bryan Fujita. After an extensive search for a new Chief Investment Officer (CIO) by EFL Associates, General Manager Joseph Salazar selected Mr. Fujita as the new CIO replacing Ray Joseph, who resigned from LAFPP in May 2022.

Bryan will lead LAFPP’s investment team managing nearly $30 billion in assets. He brings over 22 years of both public and private investment experience to LAFPP, serving the last 10 years as the Deputy Chief Investment Officer at the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System.

Mr. Salazar shared, “I am delighted to welcome Bryan to our executive team and am confident that he will enhance LAFPP’s Investment Program amidst a constantly evolving economic environment, with the ultimate goal of serving and protecting the retirement benefits of the Plan’s public safety members.”

Previously, Mr. Fujita served as Corporate Treasury Associate at the Walt Disney Company, managing equity and fixed income investments of the company’s then $4.5 billion pension fund. He also served as Client Banking Investment Executive and Assistant Vice President of Wealth Management at Wedbush Securities, managing investment portfolios for high net worth clients.

About LAFPP

Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions is dedicated to administering the defined benefit retirement plan for all sworn (Fire, Police, and certain Port Police and Airport Police) employees of the City of Los Angeles. The fund is currently valued at over $29.4 billion in assets and serves over 26,600 members and beneficiaries.

EFL Associates

Daniel Cummings of EFL Associates assisted LAFPP in the nationwide search for the CIO.

Effective July 1, 2023, Commissioner Raul Perez was re-appointed by Mayor Karen Bass and confirmed by the City Council to serve a new five-year term ending June 30, 2028. Commissioner Perez was first appointed to the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners by former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and served on the Board between September 2009 and April 2013. He was recently appointed by Mayor Karen Bass in March 2023 to serve the unexpired term of a former Commissioner.

Congratulations on your re-appointment, Commissioner Perez and thank you for your continued service!

Additional information on all current Commissioners may be found on our website at: www.lafpp.com/commissioners

Each year in July, the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners elects its Officers of the Board to serve one-year terms. On June 3, 2021, the Board authorized a one-time waiver of its Governance Policies that limit the current President and Vice President from serving more than one term consecutively, in order for the current President and Vice President to be eligible to serve one additional term as Board Officers if elected by a majority vote of the Board. On July 15, 2021, the Board re-elected Brian Pendleton as President and Kenneth E. Buzzell as Vice President.

As President, Commissioner Pendleton will exercise the following duties:

• Approves the Board agenda; presides at all Board meetings, ensuring that meetings are conducted in an efficient manner and in accordance with the City Charter and Administrative Code, applicable public meeting laws, and relevant Board policies;
• Determines who will act as spokesperson for the System should the need arise; and,
• Approves the travel expenses incurred by the General Manager and the Board.

As Vice President, Commissioner Buzzell will assume the duties of the Board President when the President is absent or if the President should delegate the Vice President to act. The Vice President will also assume the duties of the President if the President becomes unable to carry out their duties.

Congratulations to Commissioners Pendleton and Buzzell as they continue their roles with the Board!

Effective July 1, 2021, Commissioner Belinda M. Vega was re-appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti and confirmed by the City Council to serve a new five-year term ending June 30, 2026. Commissioner Vega was first appointed to the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners in October 2012 to serve the unexpired term of a former Commissioner and served as the Board President for a one-year term ending July 2015.

Congratulations on your re-appointment, Commissioner Vega and thank you for your continued service!

Additional information on all current Commissioners may be found on our website here.

MARCH 24, 2023

03/24/2023 UPDATE: LAFPP is pleased to announce that Joseph Salazar’s appointment as General Manager has been confirmed by the City Council and Mayor. He now begins his official tenure as the General Manager of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions Department. 

(The article below was originally posted on January 23, 2023)

On January 19, 2023, the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners announced the selection of Joe Salazar as the permanent General Manager, following a nationwide executive recruitment process which began in June 2022.

Ray Ciranna retired as General Manager in September 2022, and to ensure a seamless transition of leadership, the Board appointed Joe Salazar as the Interim General Manager, effective September 25, 2022.

Joe has over 20 years of experience working in the City’s retirement systems, including almost 15 years with LAFPP.  He served as Assistant General Manager for the Pensions Division, overseeing all member service functions, from April 2011 until his interim appointment in September 2022.

Joe shared, “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the members and beneficiaries of the LAFPP plan. I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the Board, our staff, and all stakeholders, focusing on our core mission to advance the health and retirement security of our members.”

The appointment of the new General Manager must be confirmed by the Mayor and City Council. A separate search for the Chief Investment Officer will commence once the permanent General Manager’s appointment is confirmed. Tom Lopez, who retired in 2021 after more than 40 years of service with LAFPP, returned to serve as the interim Chief Investment Officer until a permanent appointment is made.

We will continue to keep all members informed of the General Manager and Chief Investment Officer appointment statuses.

This is in response to the October 26, 2021 L.A. Times article that mentions a member of the LAFPP Board of Commissioners titled, “Unvaccinated L.A. City Workers Will Have More Time to Get COVID-19 Shots” by Emily Alpert Reyes

In order to meet the ordinance requirements of the vaccine mandate for City employees, the City’s Personnel Department was instructed to secure a vendor who could provide the City with COVID-19 testing, telehealth services, and a software platform and mobile application to track and report vaccination, exemption, and testing status for City employees.

After thoroughly evaluating and vetting several vendors based on their fees, ability to provide the variety of services needed, and their respective software and testing platforms, the contract was awarded by the City to PPS Health, LLC (dba Bluestone). While Bluestone lists LAFPP Commissioner Pedram Salimpour as a partial owner, Commissioner Salimpour was not engaged nor part of the review and vetting process concerning the COVID-19 testing and related services contract.

The LAFPP General Manager has verified with the Personnel Department and Los Angeles City Ethics Commission that the Personnel Department followed all appropriate contracting provisions as currently authorized by the City Council per Council resolution adopted on March 17, 2020. Additionally, all applicable ethics and contracting laws were followed by all parties throughout this process.

PLEASE NOTE: LAFPP was not part of the selection process and contract awarding, as it does not relate to administering the pension system. Please direct any inquiries regarding the COVID-19 services contract and bidding process to the City’s Personnel Department.

Each year in July, the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners elects its Officers of the Board to serve one-year terms. On July 16, 2020, the Board elected Brian Pendleton as President and Ken Buzzell as Vice President.

As President, Commissioner Pendleton will exercise the following duties:

• Approves the Board agenda; presides at all Board meetings, ensuring that meetings are conducted in an efficient manner and in accordance with the City Charter and Administrative Code, applicable public meeting laws, and relevant Board policies;
• Determines who will act as spokesperson for the System should the need arise; and,
• Approves the travel expenses incurred by the General Manager and the Board.

As Vice President, Commissioner Ken Buzzell will assume the duties of the Board President when the President is absent or if the President should delegate the Vice President to act. He will also assume the duties of the President if the President becomes unable to carry out his duties.

Congratulations to Commissioners Pendleton and Buzzell as they begin their new roles with the Board!

Effective July 1, 2020, Commissioner Adam Nathanson was re-appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti and confirmed by the City Council to serve a new five-year term ending June 30, 2025. Commissioner Nathanson was first appointed to the Board of Fire and Police Pensions in May 2015 to serve the unexpired term of a former Commissioner and served as the Board President for a one-year term ending July 2020.

Congratulations on your re-appointment, Commissioner Nathanson and thank you for your continued service!

For a current list of Commissioners, please view the Board Directory.