Lazard Appoints Peter Orszag as Chief Executive

Investment bank Lazard has appointed Peter Orszag as its next chief executive, tasking the former adviser to US President Barack Obama with reviving its fortunes amid a slump in dealmaking.

Orszag, who joined Lazard in 2016 and leads its financial advisory business, will take over from longtime chief executive Ken Jacobs in October. Jacobs will become executive chairman and will continue to advise clients.

The promotion caps a meteoric rise for Orszag, who came to finance late in his career after serving as a top economic adviser in the Obama administration, including as director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Orzag takes the top job after Lazard, which has hubs in New York and Paris, reported a first-quarter loss and announced plans to cut about 300 jobs, or about 10 percent of its workforce.

As well as a lack of M&A, Lazard has faced increased competition from new firms such as Centerview Partners, Evercore and PJT Partners, a trio that has enjoyed success since the global financial crisis.

Shares of Lazard, which also has an asset management business, are down about 50 percent from their 2021 peak.

In a memo to Lazard employees seen by the Financial Times, Orszag told employees he wanted to combine the reputation of an investment bank with a modern approach to advising clients and managing money.

“We must aim high: our ambition must be to become the pre-eminent independent, global, go-to destination on all aspects of complex corporate finance, investment and strategic decision making. . . . Success requires us to innovate and take risks is,” he wrote.

As head of the bank’s financial services business, Orzag is implementing processes in an effort to better deploy resources as well as measure success at a company that has historically given senior bankers a broad mandate to operate. given latitude.

Since joining Lazard after a stint at Citigroup, Orszag has often worked with clients in health care and life sciences, where he can draw on his academic background and knowledge of social policy.

Most recently, he advised the board of First Republic Bank when it sought to raise capital and then sell itself amid a slow run on its deposits.

But turmoil among US regional banks along with fears of a recession, a jump in financing costs and tougher antitrust enforcement from Joe Biden’s administration have helped stall dealmaking.

Orszag is close to several prominent past Democratic policymakers, including Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, Timothy Geithner and Jason Furman.