Lazard Ltd (NYSE:LAZ) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Devin Ryan: Just want to start kind of first big picture question. Lazard, founded in 1848. Most of your independent peers were founded over the past couple of decades. I think many of them would argue that they built their firms off of a blank piece of paper and so that allows for a much more efficient cost structure just as you go. And so I just want to talk a little bit about kind of the expense structure. So obviously, you have expense initiatives underway, and I hear you on kind of getting back to more normalized margins. But when you think about the overall infrastructure of Lazard today, the whole global footprint or even mix of kind of where you have offices, do you see, over time, kind of more opportunity to get more efficient around the expense structure or even maybe more dynamic on expenses as you move forward here?

Peter Orszag: Let me say a couple of things. First, there were significant adjustments that we’ve made, not all of which have been fully implemented yet because it takes a while sometimes to close offices in other countries. But we did take a very careful look at places that we didn’t think would meet our productivity hurdles, and we’ll continue to do that. Now I think, at its core, Lazard has always been harkening back to that. History has always been deep in Europe and the U.S., and that defines Lazard in some way, and that will continue. But we’re going to be aggressive about making sure that we’re only in places where we think we can expand in a high productivity way because I think that’s what leads to a model that works over time on behalf of our bankers and our shareholders, and allows us to serve our clients with excellence that they have come to expect from Lazard.

The only other thing I’d say about expenses is we will the laser — we are going to be aggressively pursuing an agenda of making sure that we’re as lean as possible because we see that as a — and delayering. It’s one reason why I didn’t replace myself as Head of Advisory. We see an opportunity for not only lower cost ratios from leaner teams, but also better experiences for our people. We have extremely talented people, and we believe that with more running room for each participant on a mandate, the talent development and experience is better on behalf of our clients. So we are continuing to take — just to return to your question, continue to take a careful look at each office and each geography. At its core Lazard has always been strong in Europe and the U.S., don’t expect that to change, and we’re committed to being as lean as possible moving forward.

Devin Ryan: And Peter, I guess another one for you. So you’ve been CEO here for just a few weeks now, but already some pretty marked changes around, I think, both communications, but also shareholder matters like the C-Corp structure announced today and something that many of us have been talking to our clients about and running about for years. So obviously, in a few weeks, a lot changing. From a cultural perspective, what do you want your legacy to be both kind of inside and outside Lazard? And what, if anything, do you see changing around the brand or culture as you implement some of these changes? Clearly, you have a firm that has effectively hundreds of years of history, but at the same time, these are big changes and things that are relatively dynamic. So just want to get a sense from you how you’re thinking about kind of your legacy as well.