Latest news with #PeterOrszag
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Lazard hires BofA banker to strengthen financial sponsors division, source says
Investment bank Lazard has hired Bank of America's Bill Hart to lead their financial sponsors division's coverage focused on West Coast clients, a person familiar with the move said on Thursday. Hart, who has over a decade of working experience with financial sponsors, will oversee large and mid-cap sponsors at the investment bank starting this fall season, the person said. He is currently the managing director for financial sponsors - private equity firms and other buy-side funds - at Bank of America's wealth management and investment division. The move is in line with Lazard's efforts to bulk up their activity involving buyout firms and alternative asset managers as it looks to increase its share in private capital. However, Lazard CEO Peter Orszag had warned in his post-earnings conference call last quarter that economic uncertainty could keep dealmaking in check. In 2024, Lazard hired Adam Cady from Bank of America for North America's large-cap financial sponsor coverage and Courtney Haydon from Guggenheim Securities for dealmaking involving private equity firms and alternative asset managers. The investment bank also hired former Citigroup dealmaker Ali Syed to cover sovereign wealth funds and pension funds last year.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lazard hires BofA banker to strengthen financial sponsors division, source says
(Reuters) -Investment bank Lazard has hired Bank of America's Bill Hart to lead their financial sponsors division's coverage focused on West Coast clients, a person familiar with the move said on Thursday. Hart, who has over a decade of working experience with financial sponsors, will oversee large and mid-cap sponsors at the investment bank starting this fall season, the person said. He is currently the managing director for financial sponsors - private equity firms and other buy-side funds - at Bank of America's wealth management and investment division. The move is in line with Lazard's efforts to bulk up their activity involving buyout firms and alternative asset managers as it looks to increase its share in private capital. However, Lazard CEO Peter Orszag had warned in his post-earnings conference call last quarter that economic uncertainty could keep dealmaking in check. In 2024, Lazard hired Adam Cady from Bank of America for North America's large-cap financial sponsor coverage and Courtney Haydon from Guggenheim Securities for dealmaking involving private equity firms and alternative asset managers. The investment bank also hired former Citigroup dealmaker Ali Syed to cover sovereign wealth funds and pension funds last year.
National Post
4 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Lazard Welcomes Klaus H. Hessberger as Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Financial Sponsors Group
Article content LONDON — Lazard, Inc. (NYSE: LAZ) today announced that Klaus H. Hessberger has been appointed to the firm as Managing Director, Global Co-Head, and Head of Europe for Lazard's Financial Sponsors Group, based in London. Article content Adam Cady, previously Lazard's Head of Large-Cap Financial Sponsor Coverage North America in New York, has also been named Global Co-Head of the Global Financial Sponsors Group, running the team together with Klaus. Article content These appointments reflect Lazard's expanding connectivity and partnership with alternative asset managers, which continues to be a principal area of focus and a major source of future growth for the firm globally. Lazard's recruiting efforts are also a key contributor to the firm's long-term growth goals, with ongoing success in attracting top tier talent globally. Article content 'Klaus is a recognised leader in the global financial sponsor community with an impressive track record of advising global alternative asset managers and leading teams of highly experienced industry professionals,' said Peter R. Orszag, CEO and Chairman. 'Together with Adam, who has played a pivotal role in managing Lazard's relationships with the world's largest alternative asset managers, we are well-positioned to further advance our market-leading offering to financial sponsor clients in Europe and globally.' Article content 'I'm thrilled to join Lazard, a firm with a rich history and an unparalleled reputation for excellence in advising financial sponsor and corporate clients around the world. Lazard's leading global industry, sector and product platform and innovative approach ensure the firm's clients succeed in an increasingly complex investment landscape. Working alongside Adam and the talented team, I'm excited to build on Lazard's strong foundations and deliver meaningful results for our clients,' said Klaus H. Hessberger. Article content Before joining Lazard, Klaus held various prominent roles over 25 years with J.P. Morgan, helping to build and co-running their market-leading European and later Global Financial Sponsors franchise, initially as European and later Global Co-Head. Klaus has most recently served as Vice Chair of the Global Financial Sponsors and Strategic Investors Coverage Group at J.P. Morgan. In these roles, Klaus covered top-tier global financial sponsor and strategic investor clients, including private equity and infrastructure funds, family offices, sovereign wealth and pension funds. In addition to his Financial Sponsor track record, Klaus brings a broad range of global industry sector and capital markets expertise, having previously co-run J.P. Morgan's Equity Capital Markets origination business in EMEA for nine years. Article content Adam Cady has nearly three decades of experience in investment banking and capital markets. Prior to joining Lazard's New York office in February 2024, Adam held various senior positions at Bank of America, departing as Managing Director and Head of Americas Financial Sponsors Group. He started his career as a leveraged finance professional at Merrill Lynch and NationsBank. Article content About Lazard Article content Founded in 1848, Lazard is the preeminent financial advisory and asset management firm, with operations in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Lazard provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and capital solutions, restructuring and liability management, geopolitics, and other strategic matters, as well as asset management and investment solutions to institutions, corporations, governments, partnerships, family offices, and high net worth individuals. For more information, please visit and follow Lazard on LinkedIn. Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Media Contacts Article content
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Lazard Welcomes Klaus H. Hessberger as Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Financial Sponsors Group
Lazard, Inc. (NYSE: LAZ) today announced that Klaus H. Hessberger has been appointed to the firm as Managing Director, Global Co-Head, and Head of Europe for Lazard's Financial Sponsors Group, based in London. Adam Cady, previously Lazard's Head of Large-Cap Financial Sponsor Coverage North America in New York, has also been named Global Co-Head of the Global Financial Sponsors Group, running the team together with Klaus. These appointments reflect Lazard's expanding connectivity and partnership with alternative asset managers, which continues to be a principal area of focus and a major source of future growth for the firm globally. Lazard's recruiting efforts are also a key contributor to the firm's long-term growth goals, with ongoing success in attracting top tier talent globally. 'Klaus is a recognised leader in the global financial sponsor community with an impressive track record of advising global alternative asset managers and leading teams of highly experienced industry professionals,' said Peter R. Orszag, CEO and Chairman. 'Together with Adam, who has played a pivotal role in managing Lazard's relationships with the world's largest alternative asset managers, we are well-positioned to further advance our market-leading offering to financial sponsor clients in Europe and globally.' 'I'm thrilled to join Lazard, a firm with a rich history and an unparalleled reputation for excellence in advising financial sponsor and corporate clients around the world. Lazard's leading global industry, sector and product platform and innovative approach ensure the firm's clients succeed in an increasingly complex investment landscape. Working alongside Adam and the talented team, I'm excited to build on Lazard's strong foundations and deliver meaningful results for our clients,' said Klaus H. Hessberger. Before joining Lazard, Klaus held various prominent roles over 25 years with J.P. Morgan, helping to build and co-running their market-leading European and later Global Financial Sponsors franchise, initially as European and later Global Co-Head. Klaus has most recently served as Vice Chair of the Global Financial Sponsors and Strategic Investors Coverage Group at J.P. Morgan. In these roles, Klaus covered top-tier global financial sponsor and strategic investor clients, including private equity and infrastructure funds, family offices, sovereign wealth and pension funds. In addition to his Financial Sponsor track record, Klaus brings a broad range of global industry sector and capital markets expertise, having previously co-run J.P. Morgan's Equity Capital Markets origination business in EMEA for nine years. Adam Cady has nearly three decades of experience in investment banking and capital markets. Prior to joining Lazard's New York office in February 2024, Adam held various senior positions at Bank of America, departing as Managing Director and Head of Americas Financial Sponsors Group. He started his career as a leveraged finance professional at Merrill Lynch and NationsBank. About Lazard Founded in 1848, Lazard is the preeminent financial advisory and asset management firm, with operations in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Lazard provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and capital solutions, restructuring and liability management, geopolitics, and other strategic matters, as well as asset management and investment solutions to institutions, corporations, governments, partnerships, family offices, and high net worth individuals. For more information, please visit and follow Lazard on LinkedIn.
The Age
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
At debt's door: US superpower is waning and Trump's part of the problem
Some investors are starting to doubt that the US ever will repay it. The doubters include Trump himself. In 2023, he was asked about the risk of a US sovereign default. He replied: 'You might as well do it now because you'll do it later.' The worry is that 'later' has arrived. Eleven days ago, the credit rating agency Moody's cut the US government's creditworthiness – for the first time since 1919 – to second-tier. Loading Of the 200 countries in the world, only 10, plus the EU, are rated as risk-free by all three major credit agencies. The US is not among them. The AAA sovereigns are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland. There are signs of growing anxiety in the markets. The US dollar has been sold off in the last week and bond interest rates bid up. And now comes the fiscal vandalism that Trump likes to call his 'big beautiful' bill. He's half-right. It's big, but it'd be ugly. The domestic politics of the bill are ugly enough. The poor get poorer through cuts to food stamps and Medicaid. The rich get richer; Trump's tax cuts for high incomes and corporations get extended. But that's their country, their business. Where it gets ugly for the world is its effect on the federal debt. The technocrats of the Congressional Budget Office calculate that it would add about $US4 trillion to the debt over a decade. The bill was passed narrowly by the House of Representatives and now goes to the Senate. If this is passed into law, market reaction will be critical. A sudden sell-off of US bonds would create a financial crisis with unpredictable consequences. Peter Orszag, head of the US investment bank Lazard, previously director of the Congressional Budget Office, said this month that, in the past, he had ignored 'all the Chicken Little, kind of, 'the sky is falling' fiscal stuff, because all the dire predictions were not happening. But if you compare where we are now to where we were a decade ago, it's a lot different. The deficit is twice as high. Interest rates are dramatically higher. I think it's time to worry again about this trajectory.' So does the historian Niall Ferguson. In February, he proposed something he calls 'Ferguson's law'. It posits that 'any great power that spends more on debt servicing than on defence risks ceasing to be a great power'. He describes his proposed threshold as timely 'as the US began violating Ferguson's Law for the first time in nearly a century in 2024'. The Congressional Budget Office says that US net interest payments hit 3.1 per cent as a share of GDP last year, overtaking defence spending at 2.9 per cent. Loading Different agencies have slightly different estimates, but the broad point is that the US is now in Ferguson's danger zone, which he calls 'a useful predictor of the decline of a great power'. How does this hurt a great power? Because there is less butter and fewer guns: 'The debt burden draws scarce resources towards itself, reducing the amount available for national security and leaving the power increasingly vulnerable to military challenge.' He also finds the 'Ferguson limit' signals the internal fragility of a great power, as well as its external vulnerability. His paper for the Hoover Institution studies empires from the Habsburg to British to support his thesis.
