Lazard names Kenneth Jacobs as CEO
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lazard Ltd <LAZ.N> named insider Kenneth Jacobs as CEO and chairman. He succeeds legendary Wall Street deal maker Bruce Wasserstein, who died last month.
The move, which came as no surprise, signals the investment bank is not seeking to change its focus on businesses such as merger advisory and restructuring, analysts said.
Jacobs, 51, has been with the firm for more than two decades and is an experienced deal maker. He has worked on transactions for clients including GlaxoSmithKline and IBM, even as he has risen to increasingly senior posts.
"The key to Lazard is you have to be a player-coach," Jacobs said in a 2006 interview with BusinessWeek. "You have to have clients and be involved in big transactions. Otherwise, you get no respect."
Jacobs joined Lazard in 1988 and was named a partner in 1991. He became deputy chairman in 2002.
Steven Golub, interim chief executive since Wasserstein's death, will continue as Lazard vice chairman and chairman of its financial advisory group.
Lazard also announced several other high-level changes on Tuesday.
Ashish Bhutani and Gary Parr will become directors and vice chairmen. Bhutani will continue as CEO of Lazard Asset Management. Parr is a deputy chairman.
Steven Heyer, a director since Lazard's initial public offering in 2005, will become lead director, a new board position.
Antonio Weiss was named global head of investment banking.
(Reporting by Steve Eder; editing by John Wallace)
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