Lazard announced Friday that Peter Orszag, who leads the financial advisory business, will succeed Ken Jacobs as CEO of the company on October 1. Mr. Jacobs will remain as Executive Chairman and will continue to advise clients.
Mr. Orszag, a former Obama administration official, will oversee a 175-year-old financial institution with a long history of advising on major corporate deals at a time when the mainstay is facing enormous challenges.
“Throughout his career in both banking and government, Peter has proven to be a strategic, visionary and decisive leader, with deep relationships across the industry and the ability to effectively lead Lazard through evolving global markets and complex geopolitical dynamics,” Richard Parsons, the company’s leading independent director, said in a statement.
Lazard did not say when succession planning began, but Mr Orszag, 54, wrote in a memo to employees on Friday that the move followed a “selection process that has been underway for some time”.
Mr. Orszag, an economist by training, appears regularly on CNBC and Bloomberg Television. He rose through the ranks in Washington and on Wall Street – working for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as Citigroup – giving him a useful background for running one of the world’s most prominent independent banks.
But he will face a difficult time for investment banks. According to Refinitiv, deal closing this year through Thursday was 40 percent lower than a year ago. And rising interest rates, tightening antitrust enforcement and a slowing economy make a resurgence of major M&A events unlikely any time soon.
The challenging environment has affected Lazard, which last month said it was laying off 10 percent of its workforce; the bank’s shares have since fallen 11 percent. Rivals such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have also cut staff.
In the memo to colleagues Friday morning, Mr. Orszag said the company’s ambition “should be to become the premier independent, global destination for all aspects of complex corporate finance, investment and strategic decision-making.”
A top priority for Mr. Orszag is expanding Lazard’s wealth management business, which oversees more than $200 billion in assets and represents 40 percent of its business. Wealth management has gained popularity among Wall Street banks as a stable source of income that can offset the volatility in investment banking; Mr. Orszag told employees that growth could come from acquisitions.
Mr. Orszag also said Lazard’s investment banking business would look for growth opportunities in private capital markets and through work in the Middle East.
Another of his priorities is “attracting and retaining top talent through a modern workplace including our technology platform, diversity and flexibility of working from home,” said Orszag.
The company will announce other management changes before October.
