Lazard Top Executives Bhutani, Stern to Step Down This Year
(Bloomberg) -- Lazard Ltd. said two of its top executives, asset-management chief Ashish Bhutani and President Alex Stern, will step down this year.
Bhutani, whose operation oversees more than $250 billion, will leave that post and quit the firm's board on June 1, the company said Wednesday in a statement. He will be succeeded by Chief Financial Officer Evan Russo. Stern, who has been with Lazard for almost 30 years, will retire at the end of the year.
Chief Executive Officer Ken Jacobs said the executives will stay on for a period of time to help with the transition. Lazard is shifting the top ranks at its asset manager after Peter Orszag, who runs the financial-advisory business, took over that operation in recent years.
“It's a generational change which I think is natural to have happen in a business that's been around as long as Lazard has,” Jacobs said in an interview. “In Lazard now, between Evan and Peter, we have two next-generation leaders in the business, which is exciting.”
Bhutani, 61, started his career at Salomon Brothers and worked with former Lazard CEO Bruce Wasserstein at Wasserstein Perella and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. He joined Lazard in 2003 and was tapped to lead the asset manager a year later, when assets were still less than $75 billion.
Since then, he's added teams from across Wall Street, expanded the firm's work in emerging markets and added new strategies focused on quantitative and thematic investing.
Stern, 55, joined Lazard as a summer associate in 1993 and became a partner in financial advisory in 2002. He was named chief operating officer in 2008, and added roles including CEO of financial advisory in 2015 after Antonio Weiss stepped down. He moved from those posts to become president in 2019 as Orszag was promoted.
“Alex has been with the firm for 30 years, he's poured his heart and his soul into it, and filled pretty much every position at Lazard that you can have,” Jacobs said.
Stern is also chairman of a Lazard special purpose acquisition vehicle, a position he will keep.
Russo, 47, will continue as CFO and help to select his successor in that role. Lazard didn't name a replacement for Stern's role as president.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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