Board of the Haas family in the sale of Rohm Haas Co

"The key of Lazard, is that you must play a role in coach," declared the new boss of the store business to "Business week" in 2006. A month after the brutal disappearance of legendary Bruce Wasserstein to sixty-one years, Lazard Board has chosen a man of the Seraglio to succeed him: Kenneth Jacobs, fifty-one years, responsible for the activities of the Bank in North America so far. Signs of a willingness to give a more "collegial" management to Lazard, his appointment was accompanied by a series of internal promotions with the Board of Directors of two partners in weight admission: Gary Parr, fifty-two years - he also regarded as a potential Wasserstein successor-, and the pattern of the asset management, Ashish Bhutani, forty-nine years.

"My intention is to capitalize on the legacy of Bruce Wasserstein in line which I I subscribe completely." "Our strategy is simple and has not changed since several decades: make primer intellectual capital on the financial capital and beat us on a global scale in the interest of our customers", yesterday summarized the new CEO of Lazard in an interview with the "echoes". Fifty-one years, Kenneth Jacobs, who joined Lazard in 1988, after four years at Goldman Sachs, is a partner in the oldest of the Bank of business with Steven Golub, sixty-three years, who had been appointed acting CEO on October 14 and keeps his title as Vice President of the Bank.

Breach of style

This choice of continuity comes, however, a facelift and a broadening of the structure of management of the firm to two "rising stars". In addition to the appointment of the Italo-Américain Antonio Weiss, forty-three years, as Global Head of Investment Banking of Lazard (under the authority of the French Bruno Roger), the release of the Council stressed that "Kenneth Jacobs will partner with Mr. Weiss and Alex Stern, forty-three years, recently appointed COO (chief operating officer"), and the current leaders of the Bank in Europe and the United States. " A way to indicate that the Bank of business, including 48 of the capital are still held by 200 Associates, intends to move towards a more collegial management style, breaking with its former CEO sometimes autocratic style.

The appointment of the ex-patron of America North, Kenneth Jacobs, was rather well received by analysts, who see it as a form of confirmation of the American Foundation of Lazard (50 of its revenues from 42 in Europe), even though Bruno Roger retains his title of "chairman of investment banking" in Paris. Board of the Haas family in the sale of & Rohm Haas Co. to Dow Chemical, to 16.5 billion, this year, Kenneth Jacobs also played a decisive role in the sale of the Stiefel Laboratories to GlaxoSmithKline. "One of our competitive advantages on other consultancy firms is that our activities are more diverse," says Ken Jacobs. The fact that its Council in restructuring activities now represent 40 of its Council Branch and asset management represents 36 of its global revenues (1,024 billion in 2008) has helped the business Bank of better through the crisis to the slowdown in the mergers and acquisitions.

Four years after its rating on the stock market, it remains the business bank, whose headquarters is based in Bermuda, to reclassify the block of 11 of its capital still held by the heirs of Bruce Wasserstein. But, for Ken Jacobs, the best guarantee of the stability of the firm remains in "the collective value of his associates."