Farah Foustok, one of the Middle East’s top female executives, is set to leave Lazard Ltd. after just over nine years leading its regional asset management business.
Foustok, who joined Lazard Asset Management in Dubai after working as the chief executive officer of ING Investment Management in the region, is departing to pursue new opportunities, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News.
Fadi El Haddad, a director and senior member of Lazard’s institutional business, will take over as the region’s interim chief executive, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
Foustok and a representative for Lazard declined to comment.
Since Foustok joined in 2014, Lazard has expanded across the region and recently became the first international investment bank to pick Riyadh as its regional hub. Lazard’s advisory arm appointed seasoned Saudi banker Sarah Al-Suhaimi to lead its Middle East advisory business.
Foustok’s departure comes as the Gulf experiences a boom in initial public offerings and attracts a slew of global financial firms to the region. Buoyed by higher oil prices and multiple reforms, the business hubs of Dubai and Riyadh have largely defied the worst of the global economic downturn being felt elsewhere.
Lazard manages about $235 billion of assets globally and has been managing assets for clients in the Middle East since 1992. The investment firm said it plans to cut its workforce by about 10% after disappointing first-quarter results. As part of the cuts, it will close a handful of offices in Latin America, Bloomberg reported in May.
(Updates with details of the Middle East business in last paragraph.)
