Lazard’s France CEO Pigasse to Leave for ‘Next Chapter’ Venture

(Bloomberg) -- Lazard Ltd. said Matthieu Pigasse will step down as chairman and chief executive officer of its operations in France at the end of the year to pursue an entrepreneurial venture.

A new leadership team in France will be announced shortly, the investment bank said Sunday in a statement. Pigasse, 51, is leaving alone, according to a person familiar with the matter. Jean-Louis Girodolle, a managing director in Paris, is staying at the firm.

Pigasse has been instrumental in placing Lazard at the heart of M&A deals in Europe and advising governments since joining the firm in 2002. He is also known in France for his personal media investments, including stakes in the daily Le Monde and content producer Mediawan SA. Pigasse made both investments along with billionaire Xavier Niel, the telecom mogul behind Iliad SA.

Pigasse said that after more than 15 years he needed a “new stage, a new challenge,” and had taken the “hard decision” to leave to pursue a personal project, according to a memo to Lazard employees in France that was made available to media.

He referred to his involvement in “transformative” deals at Accor SA, Carrefour SA, Danone SA, L’Oreal SA, Sanofi, Total SA and Thales SA, as well as Greek and Argentine debt restructurings.

The banker has led the sovereign-advisory unit at Lazard, working with troubled governments including Ukraine and Greece. Previously, he held posts in the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, as well as the nation’s Treasury.

Read more: Lazard CEO cites client de-risking as asset management falls 12%

--With assistance from James Regan.

To contact the reporters on this story: Geraldine Amiel in Paris at gamiel@bloomberg.net;Angelina Rascouet in London at arascouet1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Geraldine Amiel at gamiel@bloomberg.net, Dan Reichl, Steve Geimann

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