Lazard appoints senior infra advisor

Investment bank Lazard has appointed a senior infrastructure advisor to the firm, effective immediately.

Thomas Suozzi will work with infrastructure companies and governments in advising them on financial transactions and public-private partnerships in the US, according to a statement.

Until a failed re-election bid in November 2009, Suozzi had served as the executive for Nassau County, a populous county in Long Island that is part of the New York City metropolitan area. He was also mayor of the city of Glen Cove, New York, for eight years.

Lazard isn’t the only investment bank to reach to the public sector for executives to advise clients on infrastructure and public-private partnership deals. In 2008, JPMorgan hired former Federal Aviation Administration head Jane Garvey for its infrastructure advisory group. In 2009, she joined infrastructure fund manager Meridiam Infrastructure as the head of its North American operations.

Felix Rohatyn, a life-long Lazard investment banker who re-joined the firm in January as special advisor to chief executive Kenneth Jacobs, used Suozzi’s appointment as an opportunity to highlight the importance of infrastructure investment to the US’ future.

“Infrastructure must become a top priority both for the long-term health of our transportation and power systems but also for job creation,” he said in the statement.

The May issue of Infrastructure Investor magazine features an in-depth conversation with Felix Rohatyn.