Leon Black leaves mark on Apollo with new directors with ties to him

Leon Black may have maneuvered to enhance his clout on the board of Apollo Global Management ahead of a surprise Jan. 25 announcement that he was stepping down as CEO amid controversy over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, The Post has learned.

In a series of moves that are only now being questioned by some within the company, according to sources close to the situation, Black on Jan. 22 presented a plan to increase the size of Apollo’s board from seven to 13, including four new directors whose appointments were to be effective March 1. In addition to Apollo co-presidents Scott Kleinman and Jim Zelter, the company also added to the board independent directors Siddhartha Mukherjee and Pam Joyner.