Peter Orszag

Peter Richard Orszag is a Jewish Hungarian-American economist and the CEO and Chairman of Lazard, a global financial advisory and asset management firm.

Orszag was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1968, to Reba and Steven Orszag. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and then earned his B.A. degree summa cum laude in economics from Princeton University in 1991. He received an M.Sc. in 1992 and a Ph.D. in 1997 in economics from the London School of Economics, which he attended as a Marshall Scholar.

Orszag began his career in public service during the Clinton administration, serving as Senior Economist and Senior Adviser on the Council of Economic Advisers (1995–1996) and later as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy (1997–1998).

He then became a senior fellow and Deputy Director of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he directed The Hamilton Project and, in conjunction with Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute, the Pew Charitable Trust’s Retirement Security Project.

In 2007, Orszag was appointed Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a role he held until November 2008. On November 25, 2008, he was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where he oversaw the federal budget and evaluated government programs. He held this position until August 2010.

Following his government service, Orszag transitioned to the private sector. He founded a consulting group, Sebago Associates, which later merged into Competition Policy Associates and was acquired by FTI Consulting Inc. He also worked as a consultant for McKinsey and Company on an HMO project in San Francisco, California.

In May 2016, Orszag joined Lazard as Vice Chairman of Investment Banking. He later became the firm’s Head of North American Mergers and acquisitions and Global Co-Head of Healthcare from July 2018 to June 2019. From April 2019 to September 2023, he served as CEO of Financial Advisory, overseeing Lazard’s advisory businesses for companies and governments worldwide.

In October 2023, he was appointed CEO and Chairman of Lazard and joined the company’s Board of Directors.

Orszag lives in Washington, D.C., and is married to Bianna Golodryga of CNN. His previous marriage ended in divorce, and he has two children.

Sources: “Peter Orszag,” Lazard.Wikipedia.