NEW YORK, Might 26 (Reuters) – Lazard Ltd (LAZ.N) stated Peter Orszag, a banker and former White Home official, will take the helm as its chief government officer on Oct. 1, when Kenneth Jacobs steps down after 14 years within the high job on the funding financial institution.
Jacobs will grow to be the 175-year-old agency’s government chairman, specializing in consumer relationships.
Orszag, who joined Lazard in 2016, at the moment leads its monetary advisory enterprise overseeing offers.
When he takes the reins, Orszag will eradicate that position and reassign his duties to others throughout the agency, he stated in letter to its greater than 3,400 workers, calling on them to show the financial institution into the “go-to vacation spot” in finance.
“We must always goal increased,” he wrote.
Lazard was ranked No. 7 within the listing of high deal advisers for the primary quarter, up from No. 9 final 12 months, in response to Refinitiv.
It’s the newest Wall Avenue agency to set out management adjustments. Final week, Morgan Stanley (MS.N) CEO James Gorman stated he would step down inside a 12 months and grow to be government chairman, with three candidates within the operating to succeed him.
In contrast, JPMorgan Chase & Co’s (JPM.N) chief Jamie Dimon stated he had no plans to depart the biggest U.S. lender after operating it for 17 years.
The management change is available in a troublesome 12 months for dealmaking amid financial uncertainty. Lazard reported a shock loss within the first quarter as exercise slumped. Jacobs warned in April of an unsure outlook for the remainder of the 12 months and introduced plans to chop about 10% of the corporate’s workforce.
Most not too long ago, Orszag suggested First Republic Financial institution earlier than the lender was seized by regulators and bought to JPMorgan earlier this month.
Orszag was previously a vice chairman at Citigroup Inc (C.N). He additionally served within the Obama administration as director of the Workplace of Administration and Finances, and earlier than that, because the director of the Congressional Finances Workplace.
In current months, he has represented Lazard at business conferences and in media interviews.
The chief has a level in economics from Princeton College and a Ph.D. in economics from the London Faculty of Economics.
“Peter has confirmed to be a strategic, visionary and decisive chief, with deep relationships throughout the business,” stated Richard Parsons, the financial institution’s lead unbiased director who beforehand served as Time Warner CEO and Citigroup chairman.
Orszag has the “means to successfully lead Lazard by evolving international markets and sophisticated geopolitical dynamics,” Parsons stated.
Reporting by Lananh Nguyen; Enhancing by Paritosh Bansal and Sonali Paul
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