The Associated Press elected three new members to its board: Samuel Zell, chairman and CEO of the Tribune Co.; Donna J. Barrett, president and CEO of Community Newspaper Holdings; Craig A. Dubow, chairman, president and CEO of Gannett Co. Douglas H. McCorkindale and Jay Smith will both retire. News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch will fill the vacancy created by Smith’s retirement until the next election of directors.

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E*Trade Financial Corp. elected Frederick W. Kanner, a partner at the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf in New York City, to its board. Kanner will serve on the board’s finance and risk oversight committee and nominating and corporate governance committee.

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CA elected Arthur F. Weinbach to its board and to serve on its compensation and human resources committee. Weinbach currently serves as executive chairman of Broadridge Financial Solutions; previously he was non-executive chairman of Automatic Data Systems where he was also president and CEO.

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Appointed to the board of Harrah’s Entertainment were Charles Atwood, Jeanne Jackson, Lynn Swann, and Christopher Williams. Atwood has been vice chairman of the Las Vegas-based casino operator since 2006. Jackson is a former CEO of Walmart.com and Banana Republic. Swann runs a marketing and consulting firm and is managing director of Diamond Edge Capital Partners. Williams is chairman and chief executive of Williams Capital Group and of Williams Capital Management.

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Conant, who has been CEO of Campbell Soup since January2001, was also elected as a director of the company at the time, and is thecompany’s 11^th leader in its nearly 140-year history.  Conant has brought with him to Campbell, and now to theConference Board, 25 years experience in the food industry from three of theworld’s leading companies: General Mills Inc., Kraft Foods and Nabisco.

Additionally, Conant is also a director of Applebee’sInternational Inc., Chairman of the board of directors of Students in FreeEnterprise, a trustee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and a boardmember of the Grocery Manufacturers Association/Food Processors of America.

The Conference Board, which creates and distributesknowledge about management and the marketplace to help businesses strengthentheir performance and better serve society, conducts conferences, makesforecasts and assesses trends, publishes information and analysis, and bringsexecutives together to learn from one another.

Vice Chairmen of the Conference Board’s Board of Trustees:

• Josef Ackermann, Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank AG
• Alan M. Dachs, President and CEO, Fremont Group, L.L.C.
• Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr., Executive Partner, Madison Dearborn
• Nandan M. Nilekani, Co-Chairman, Infosys Technologies Limited
• Anne M. Tatlock, Director, Former Chairman and CEO, Fiduciary Trust Company International

Other Members of the Board of Trustees:

• Herbert M. Allison, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO, TIAA, President and CEO, CREF
• Alan J.P. Belda, Chairman and CEO, Alcoa Inc.
• Patrick Cescau, Group Chief Executive, Unilever PLC
• Richard T. Clark, Chairman, President and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc.
• Ian E.L. Davis, Worldwide Managing Director, McKinsey & Company
• Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Jeffrey E. Garten, Juan Trippe Professor of International Trade, Finance and Business, Yale School of Management
• Anne Golden, President and CEO, The Conference Board of Canada
• Francisco González, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BBVA
• Klaus Kleinfeld, President and Chief Operating Officer, Alcoa Inc.
• Lim Chee Onn, Executive Chairman, Keppel Corporation Limited
• Padraig McManus, Chief Executive Officer, Electricity Supply Board
• Hutham S. Olayan, President and CEO, Olayan America Corporation
• Michael E. Roach, President and CEO, CGI Group Inc.
• Edward B. Rust, Jr., Chairman and CEO, State Farm Insurance Companies
• Mayo Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool
• Samuel C. Scott III, Chairman, President and CEO, Corn Products International, Inc.
• Jonathan Spector, Chief Executive Officer, The Conference Board, Inc.
• Anton van Rossum, Member of the Board of Directors, Crédit Suisse Group
• G. J. (Hans) Wijers, Chairman, Board of Management, Akzo Nobel nv
• Ronald A. Williams, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President, Aetna Inc.
• Marjorie Yang, Chairman, Esquel Group of Companies
• Jaime A. Zobel de Ayala II, Chairman and CEO, Ayala Corporation

Foley, the first not-for-profit director to be honored byNACD, has served on the Pro Mujer board since 2003 and has beenchairman since 2005.  Currently, she is alsodirector of Healthcare Chaplaincy, and of publicly-traded PetSmart and Dresser Rand.

“Ms. Foley has demonstrated the ability toguide and advise Pro Mujer through changing circumstances, and hasshown the independent-mindedness and courage all directors shouldaspire to.”  –  NACD President and CEO Kenneth Daly.

The award was established by NACD 20 years ago to recognizeboard members who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in promoting theprinciples and best practices of good corporate governance.

“Ms. Foley embodiesexcellence in corporate governance,” said Kenneth Daly, NACD President and CEO, in a recent statement.  “She has demonstrated the ability toguide and advise Pro Mujer through changing circumstances, and hasshown the independent-mindedness and courage all directors shouldaspire to. We are proud to honor her with this award.”

In September, the NACD announced that Edward D. Miller, was it’s choice for Public Company Director, director of American Express and Keyspan. Other winners include Alan Dunn, director of Idahom Asphalt, who was named private company director of the year; and Richard H. Koppes, director of Apria and Valeant, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Koppes was also named to the Directorship 100.

Iconix Brand Group, Inc. announced Tuesday that James A.Marcum has joined the company’s board of directors.

Marcum, who has been a partner and has served as anoperating director of Tri-Artisan Capital Partners, LLC, is also a principalshareholder and has served as Chairman and CSO of Enabl-u Technologies Corp., aprovider of interactive training and data management solutions.

HealthSouth Corporation, a leading provider ofrehabilitation services, announced last week that John W. Chidsey has been appointedto its board of directors.  Cidseycurrently serves as CFO and Director of Burger King Holdings, Inc.

Prior to his time at Burger King, which began in 2004,Chidsey served as chairman and CEO for two corporate divisions at CendantCorporation.  He’s also served as the CFOof Pepsi-Cola Eastern Europe and of PepsiCo World Trading Co., Inc.

Royce Winsten, founder and managing director of ShoreCapital Management, LLC, has been elected to the board of directors of Duckwall-ALCOStores, Inc., the company announced last week.

Having experience as an analyst, broker and advisor fornearly 15 years, Winsten is also a chartered financial analyst. 

Telesource International, Inc., a global engineering andinfrastructure firm, announced this week that it has appointed two new membersto its board of directors:  Major General(retired) Trudy H. Clark, and Carl Wayne Smith, Esq.

Clark brings with him morethan 20 years of experience in innovative delivery of support service atworldwide locations in units of 60 to 2,000 members and budgets of $1 Millionto $2.9 Billion.  He has held seniormanagement positions in government contracting and the Air Force industry,including Deputy Director of Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Additionally, Smith comes to the board with expertise ingovernment contracting, defense acquisition, international agreements,telecommunication regulation, information security, and handling of classifiedinformation.

Currently, Telesource’s board also includes Chairman RalphBeck, Max Engler, Jeff Adams, Ibrahim Ibrahim, and Nidal Zayed.

Xinhua, the Chinese financial and entertainment media company, has expanded its board of directors by four independent directors and a management director, according to a report in Business Week’s online edition.

As a result, the board will now comprise 12 directors, seven of whom are independent. New to the board are Larry Kramer, Steve Richards, Li Shantong, and David Olson, and new management directors Teddy Liu Weidong, the company’s advising group president and CEO of Xinuha Finance Advertising.

The company, which owns proxy advisory firm, Glass Lewis, had come under fire for its own governance practices, including a board that lacked indenpendence.

Ness Energy International, Inc. is re-energizing its boardroom. The company announced yesterday that its former board members Dr. Richard Nash and Mark Bassham have resigned from their director positions. Anthony Allenby, Ness CEO and Chairman of the Board, has appointed Dr. Yolanda Garcia and Mr. George O’Donnell to fill the slots.

“I have appointed the board with the two honorary positions being gratefull accepted,” Allenby said in a release yesterday. “Both individuals walk with great wisdom and discernment. I am certain that each will be a huge asset to the company in fulfilling its strategic objectives, the great Vision and ensuring good governance.”

The company said Garcia and O’Donnell will serve on the Board until such time as a shareholder meeting is held and new board members are elected. Plans are being formalized for a shareholder meeting, currently scheduled for November 5 in the Dallas, TX area, and will be announced in weeks to come.

“Both individuals walk with great wisdom and discernment. I am certain that each will be a huge asset to the company in fulfilling its strategic objectives, the great Vision and ensuring good governance.” –Ness Energy CEO Anthongy Allenby on the company’s new board appointees.

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OGE Energy Corp. in Oklahoma City, Okla., announced Sunday that its board of directors elected Peter Delaney as chairman and CEO. Delaney succeeds Steven E. Moore who died Saturday after an eight-year battle against cancer. In a statement, OGE lead director Luke Corbett said Delaney’s appointment to replace Moore was part of a succession planning process begun more than 18 months ago by the company’s board with the assistance of its nominating and corporate governance committee. Delaney has been in charge of the day-to-day operations of the company being named president and COO earlier this year.

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Chevron Corp.’s Board of Directors approved a three-year, $15 billion buyback program, the company said today.

Chevron, the second largest oil company in the U.S., has already spent $15 billion during the last three years to buy back common shares. Under the announcement of the program, the company will make occasional acquisitions, which are subject to market conditions and other factors.

“We believe it is appropriate to return cash to our stockholders through share repurchases,” Chairman and CEO Dave O’Reilly said in a statement.

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GTL Ltd, India’s leading network services player, was given the Golden Peacock Global Award for Corporate Governance, at the 8th International Conference on Corporate Governance in London. The World Council for Corporate Governance in London gives the award annually to companies that demonstrate standards of corporate governance. Among the reasons cited by the jury for awarding this year’s prize to GTI was its disclosures, compliance, and voluntary audit of quarterly accounts, its board and corporate social responsibility activities, and its initiation of environment and corporate social responsibilities projects. Past award winners include Barclay’s, Coca-Cola, Deutsch Bank, and Pfizer.

Tom Freston, former president and CEO of Viacom, Inc., was elected today to the board of directors for DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., the developer of computer generated animated movies.

Freston, who served as Viacom president and CEO from January to September 2006, was originally the company’s co-president and co-COO, and has also served as chairman and CEO of MTV Networks.

“Tom is a tremendous addition to our distinguished Board of Directors and I’m pleased to welcome him to DreamWorks Animation,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer of DreamWorks Animation in a statement. “His wealth of leadership experience in the entertainment industry will serve the Company well.”

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Hooper Holmes’ Board of Directors has announced director Paul Kolacki’s retirement, effective September 30.

Kolacki, who retired from Hooper Holmes, a leading risk assessment services firm, in March 2000 after 36 years, served as the company’s vice president and COO. The Board of Directors first elected him in August 2005.

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Stone Energy Corp., an independent natural gas and oil company, has announced that its Board of Directors approved a buyback of up to $100 million of its common shares. The buyback program, though, may be suspended or discounted at any time. The company’s shares fell 4 cents to $33.73 in electronic pre-market trading, and stock closed Monday at $33.77.