Lazard introduced on Friday that Peter Orszag, who leads its core monetary advisory enterprise, will succeed Ken Jacobs as the corporate’s chief government on Oct. 1. Mr. Jacobs will keep on as government chairman and proceed to advise shoppers.

Mr. Orszag, a former Obama administration official, will oversee a 175-year-old monetary establishment with an extended historical past of advising on main company offers at a time when its mainstay enterprise faces enormous challenges.

“Over his career spanning both banking and government, Peter has proven to be a strategic, visionary and decisive leader, with deep relationships across the industry and the ability to effectively lead Lazard through evolving global markets and complex geopolitical dynamics,” Richard Parsons, the agency’s lead impartial director, mentioned in an announcement.

Lazard didn’t say when its succession planning started, however Mr. Orszag, 54, wrote in a memo to staff on Friday that the transfer adopted a “selection process that has been in the works for quite some time.”

An economist by coaching, Mr. Orszag often seems on CNBC and Bloomberg Television. He rose by way of the ranks in Washington and on Wall Street — he labored for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, in addition to at Citigroup — giving him a helpful background to working one of many world’s most distinguished impartial banks.

But he’ll confront a troublesome time for funding banks. Deal-making was down 40 p.c this yr by way of Thursday, in contrast with the identical interval final yr, in response to Refinitiv. And rising rates of interest, more and more powerful antitrust enforcement and a slowing economic system make a resurgence in big-ticket mergers and acquisitions unlikely anytime quickly.

The difficult surroundings has hit Lazard, which mentioned final month that it was laying off 10 percent of its work pressure; the financial institution’s shares have fallen 11 p.c since then. The agency isn’t alone: Rivals like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have additionally minimize workers.

In the memo to colleagues this morning, Mr. Orszag mentioned the agency’s ambition “should be to become the pre-eminent independent, global, go-to destination on all aspects of complex corporate finance, investing, and strategic decision-making.”

A high precedence for Mr. Orszag is increasing Lazard’s asset administration enterprise, which oversees greater than $200 billion of belongings and represents 40 p.c of its enterprise. Asset administration has turn out to be common amongst Wall Street banks as a gradual income that may offset volatility in funding banking; Mr. Orszag informed staff that progress might come from acquisitions.

Mr. Orszag additionally mentioned Lazard’s funding banking enterprise would search for progress alternatives in personal capital markets and thru work within the Middle East.

Among his different priorities are to “attract and retain top talent through a modern workplace including our technology platform, diversity and work from home flexibility,” Mr. Orszag mentioned.

The agency will announce different adjustments to its administration earlier than October.