Ex-JPM Caz chief Kheraj joins Lazard
FORMER JP Morgan Cazenove chief executive Naguib Kheraj has agreed to join Lazard as chief executive of its international business, which is chaired by Ken Costa.
The surprise move came after widespread speculation in the City that Kheraj, who also held the finance director role at Barclays in the past, was among the top candidates to replace Eric Daniels as chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group.
At Lazard International, Kheraj will be part of an elite team tasked with providing cross-border advice to the biggest corporates, financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds. The business sits alongside the bank’s UK arm, led by chief executive William Rucker.
Kheraj is one of the City’s most respected senior bankers, who stepped down from his former role earlier this year when JP Morgan acquired the remaining 50 per cent of Cazenove it did not already own.
As well as being linked to the Lloyds role, he had also been touted as a potential successor to Stuart Gulliver, who was recently appointed as chief executive of HSBC, at the helm of the firm’s investment bank.
The news of his appointment came as it emerged that Costa, who has chaired Lazard
International for three years, had registered a new venture at Companies House in August. Costa and his wife Fiona are the only listed directors at the new firm, K J Costa Advisory, which is not expected to encroach upon his duties at Lazard. It has not been registered with the Financial Services Authority.