jacobs.jpgA month after Bruce Wasserstein’s sudden death, Lazard has a new CEO. Kenneth Jacobs, the head of the legendary investment bank’s North American business, has been named to succeed Wasserstein.
Jacobs was the unanimous selection of Lazard’s board.
In addition to Jacob’s appointment, Lazard added another potential CEO candidate, Gary Parr, to its board of directors and named him vice chairman. Ashish Bhutani was also tapped as a vice chair, while Steven Heyer was named to the new post of lead director.
Antonio Weiss was appointed global head of investment banking.
Jacobs Named Lazard CEO [WSJ]
Lazard Names Jacobs as Its New Chief [NYT]

Comments (35)

  1. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 9:29 AM

    Okay, get back to work. We’ve got deals to make.

  2. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 9:34 AM

    So, there is a job opening at Lazard then?

  3. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 9:40 AM

    Another nice Irish guy. Refreshing.

  4. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 9:42 AM

    what’s the difference between dealbreaker and WSJ?

  5. Posted by CoveredLong | November 17, 2009 at 9:45 AM

    @4 – You didn’t capitalize any of the letters in ‘dealbreaker’?

  6. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 9:45 AM

    is lazard even relevant anymore?

  7. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 9:51 AM

    26A Petri dish gel (4)

  8. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 9:54 AM

    I am the Lazard King!

  9. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 9:59 AM

    cufflinks = asshole alert

  10. Posted by Investorcluzo | November 17, 2009 at 10:10 AM

    @9 – stfu…it’s called attention to detail. now if he had a white collar on a blue shirt with matching white french cuffs, then I might have agreed with you. now get back to work.

  11. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 10:11 AM

    @9 cufflinks=42A Dress shirt accessories (9). Thanks!

  12. Posted by pfluger | November 17, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    @10:
    What about braces (aka suspenders in the real world)?
    I happen to believe there is positive correlation between assholiness, cufflinks, and braces.

  13. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 10:38 AM

    @4
    … one is made of paper and is very dangerous to children?
    … about 45 minutes?
    … the sex is the same but the dishes at WSJ pile up?
    … the folds?
    … the WSJ doesn’t scream when you put it in the oven?
    I give up, what?

  14. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 10:40 AM

    Antonio Weiss, a victory for Jewbronis everywhere.

  15. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 10:46 AM

    @6 Are you just being a dick or are you a retard?
    No I don’t work for Lazard

  16. Posted by Investorcluzo | November 17, 2009 at 10:54 AM

    @12 – braces are a tough one. if you’re a brit, run with it. if you grew up in brooklyn, don’t even try it. I would say that the sense of entitlement/self worth increases exponentially (though not necessarily deserved), along with that comes an increase in the d-bag meter.
    caveat – some guys really need to wear them do to their build, but they are the exception…where is GAnalYst when you need him?

  17. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 10:57 AM

    Will he be selling advertising space on his forehead? Just axin’

  18. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 11:09 AM

    Shut your low class face, y’idiot.

  19. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 11:12 AM

    Rules on cufflinks and braces….
    Cufflinks…if you make more than $250M (that is thousands, for you non-bankers) per year and can afford french cuffs, wear them. $400 Hermes ties are so 1990′s. So, other than the power pen (so 1980′s), the collar pin (so 1970′s) how are you going to show off your sense of style?
    Braces…if you want to scream, “I make $70K per year and want you to think I make over $150M per year…” then by all means, wear them. But, don’t coordinate them with your tie or kerchief. Seriously, they are passe and if you wear them, you are saying you are okay with good old days. My guess is that a majority of the readers on this board are unwilling to wear these due to their sense of style.

  20. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 11:14 AM

    Fuck you @18.
    @15

  21. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 11:21 AM

    @20/15, no, no mon frère, fuck huuuugh

  22. Posted by pfluger | November 17, 2009 at 11:31 AM

    @16/cluzo:
    I’m in agreement. Porkies often need ‘em, and it doesn’t necessarily automatically imply assholiness.
    On the other hand, fit or skinny men who wear bold braces, especially if they have little elephants or golfers embroidered on them, are a different story. Especially if accompanied with cufflinks (typical, in my experience). In that case, the correlation between the braces and assholiness is nearly 1, IMO.
    I generally take the cufflinks as a yellow flag, a warning sign that the bearer may possibly be an asshole.

  23. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 11:35 AM

    #15
    No im being serious. I worked in M&A at a BB then went on to PE…I dont get what the appeal of Lazard is.
    - They don’t really place their analysts well into PE or HFs
    - I’ve worked with them 2x both on the same team and they weren’t anymore demonstrably knowledgeable or intelligent than bankers I’ve worked with at other banks
    - They have no capital markets so they can’t really focus on IPOs, debt which lends itself well to building a long term client relationship
    - They were nowhere to be found during the crisis advising the govt or banks or anyone. They were sitting on the sidelines like second stringers…obviously this firm is a lot different than the Lazard from the 70s-90s
    Im not trying to disparage the firm. The people I met there were smart and competent but they werent like glaringly better than people I’ve worked with at other banks..
    just saying

  24. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 11:46 AM

    @23 Yes they do have capital markets, they just spun it off into a separate entity called Lazard Capital Markets
    Gary Parr advised Bear And Lehman so how can you say they played no roll in the credit crisis?
    You may be right that they aren’t the heavy hitters they once were but they are far from “irrelevant”.

  25. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 11:49 AM

    #25, they do but how relevant is their cap markets? Where do they show up on the league tables if you bberg them for equity, equity linked or debt?
    Parr is commonly acknowledged as a great banker but remember he signed on at Lazard relatively recently. He built his credibility at MS…there are no more Rattner-esque homegrown Lazard bankers of Parr’s caliber there anymore except for maybe golub…thats all I’m saying…maybe irrelevant is too strong a better term would be boxed in.

  26. Posted by CoveredLong | November 17, 2009 at 11:59 AM

    @23/25 – Doing some serious backpeddling there, I’m impressed, nice work.

  27. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 12:02 PM

    @25 fair enough

  28. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 12:31 PM

    @26,
    Thank you I try.

  29. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 1:23 PM

    I love it when analysts argue over the quality of their ibank and it reputation.
    Like it matters when your job is powerpoint formatting and comps

  30. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 1:30 PM

    #29
    Reputation matters. It affects the amount and nature of deals you work on vs endless pitching, it affects your exits to HF/PE firms, it can affect your comp to a certain extent, and it can effect your chances to get into a top BSchool if that’s your desire.
    Clearly day to day you’re still a monkey but all things being equal i’d rather work at goldman or something than some weak ass bank in some broke ass city.

  31. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 2:05 PM

    What a great choice. Ken’s a great guy. Congrats to him.

  32. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 2:59 PM

    @7: agar

  33. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 3:03 PM

    @32 thank you.

  34. Posted by guest | November 17, 2009 at 5:01 PM

    Great job Parr did with Bear. “It’s worth $2, oh wait, you’ve sold all your stock at $4? It’s worth $10″.

  35. Posted by guest | November 18, 2009 at 12:04 AM

    Wonder how Parr’s teenage girlfriend will play at the philharmonic?

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