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Peter R. Orszag

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For the ice hockey referee, see Peter Ország.
Peter Orszag
Orszag in 2023
37th Director of the Office of Management and Budget
In office
January 20, 2009 – July 20, 2010
PresidentBarack Obama
DeputyRob Nabors
Preceded byJim Nussle
Succeeded byJeff Zients (Acting)
7th Director of the Congressional Budget Office
In office
January 18, 2007 – November 25, 2008
Preceded byDouglas Holtz-Eakin
Succeeded byDouglas Elmendorf
Personal details
Born
Peter Richard Orszag

(1968-12-16) December 16, 1968 (age 56)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Cameron Hamill
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2006)​
​
(m. 2010)​
Children5
EducationPhillips Exeter Academy Princeton University (BA)
London School of Economics (MS, PhD)

Peter Richard Orszag (born December 16, 1968) is an American business executive and former government official. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Lazard.[1] Announced as Lazard’s incoming CEO on May 26, 2023, he assumed the role on October 1, 2023, also joining the board.[2]

Prior to becoming Lazard CEO, Orszag was CEO of Lazard's Financial Advisory from April 2019 to September 2023.[3] He was previously Head of North American Mergers & Acquisitions and Global Co-Head of Healthcare from July 2018 to June 2019. Orszag joined Lazard as Vice Chairman of Investment Banking in May 2016.[4][5]

Prior to Lazard, Orszag was a Vice Chairman of Corporate and Investment Banking and Chairman of the Financial Strategy and Solutions Group at Citigroup.[6] Prior to that, he was the 37th Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under President Barack Obama and had also been the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Orszag is a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences. He is on the Boards of Directors of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Mount Sinai Hospital, and New Visions for Public Schools in New York. He has also been on the board of the Russell Sage Foundation.[7]

Early life

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Orszag grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts,[8] the son of Reba (née Karp) and Steven Orszag. His paternal great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Hungary who immigrated to New York City in 1903.[9][10] His father, Steven Orszag, was a math professor at Yale University and his mother was the president and owner of a research and development company.[11] His brother is Jonathan Orszag, the Senior Managing Director of Compass Lexecon, LLC.

After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy with high honors (1987), Orszag earned an A.B. summa cum laude in economics from Princeton University in 1991 after completing an 80-page long senior thesis titled "Congressional Oversight of the Federal Reserve: Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives."[12] He then received a M.Sc. (1992) and a Ph.D. (1997) in economics from the London School of Economics. His doctoral thesis was titled "Dynamic analysis of regime shifts under uncertainty: Applications to hyperinflation and privatization".[13] He was a Marshall Scholar 1991–1992, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.[14]

Career

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Early years

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Orszag became a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, and taught macroeconomics in 1999 and 2000.[15] He then became a senior fellow and Deputy Director of Economic Studies[16] at the Brookings Institution.[17] In 2006 he co-founded and directed The Hamilton Project[17] and was its first director.[16] He was also director[16] of the Pew Charitable Trust's Retirement Security Project.[17]

He was Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy (1997–1998), and as Senior Economist and Senior Adviser on the Council of Economic Advisers (1995–1996) during the Clinton administration.[18] After leaving the Clinton White House,[17] he formed a consulting group called Sebago Associates, which merged into Competition Policy Associates and was bought by FTI Consulting Inc. for a reported $70 million[18] in 2005.[17] He has been a columnist at Bloomberg Opinion.[19]

Congressional Budget Office (2007-2008)

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Orszag was director of the Congressional Budget Office from January 2007 to November 2008. During his tenure, he repeatedly drew attention to the role rising health care expenditures were likely to play in the government's long-term fiscal problems—and, by extension, the nation's long-term economic problems. "I have not viewed CBO's job as just to passively evaluate what Congress proposes, but rather to be an analytical resource. And part of that is to highlight things that are true and that people may not want to hear, including that we need to address health-care costs."[20] During his time at the CBO, he added 20 full-time health analysts (bringing the total number to 50), thereby strengthening the CBO's analytical capabilities and preparing Congress for health-care reform.[20]

He was widely praised for his time at CBO for preparing the agency for the debates to come. When he stepped down, National Journal noted that "Orszag, who will turn 40 on Dec. 16, has been praised by lawmakers from both parties as an objective analyst with deep knowledge of the most pressing fiscal issues of the day, including health care policy, Social Security, pensions, and global climate change. He is the unusual economist who blends an understanding of politics, policy and communications in ways that wrap zesty quotes around complex ideas."[21]

Office of Management and Budget (2008-2011)

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2009 budget meeting

On November 25, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced that Orszag would be his nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget, the arm of the White House responsible for crafting the federal budget and overseeing the effectiveness of federal programs.[22][23]

Peter Orszag with President Obama in the Oval Office in January 2009

Orszag, in a November 2009 speech in New York, said that the national deficits, which were expected to add $9 trillion to the existing national debt of $12 trillion over the next decade, were "serious and ultimately unsustainable." He said that deficit spending was necessary to help boost the economy when unemployment is hovering around 10 percent. But he said that red ink must be stopped as the economy recovers. During a recovery, private investment will again pick up and compete with the federal government for capital.[24] In 2011, he was described by New York Magazine as a "deficit hawk and clashed with Larry Summers, who wasn’t as focused on the long-term debt crisis."[17] He was invited to attend the Bilderberg Group conferences in 2010, 2011 and 2012.[citation needed] He was also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a contributing columnist for the New York Times op-ed page.[25]

In July 2010 Orszag said that "The problem now is weak growth and high unemployment rather than outright economic collapse". Still, the deficit would be equivalent to 10 percent of the gross domestic product, the highest level since World War II. The Office of Management and Budget's mid-session review, forecast a smaller deficit and stronger economic growth than the administration's initial budget release. The deficit forecast in 2011 increased to $1.42 trillion, up from the $1.27 estimate in February. For 2012, the deficit estimate rose to $922 billion, up from $828 billion in the previous report. The annual budget shortfall would bottom out in 2017 at $721 billion, or 3.4 percent of GDP, and begin rising again in following years.[26]

A review of Orszag's daily schedules showed focus on healthcare reform as soon as he joined Obama's Cabinet. The daily schedules for Orszag, who left his position as OMB director in July 2010, reveal that he and key White House aides regularly met to discuss healthcare starting in January 2009, within days of Obama entering office. Orszag also had meetings with insurance executives and health experts as the White House made health reform its top legislative priority after enacting the $814 billion stimulus from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

When Orszag resigned, the Progressive Policy Institute summed up his time in office: "For an administration numbers-cruncher, he was unusually visible, which was a good thing. With a reputation for impartiality and brilliance, Orszag gave the administration's agenda analytical ballast. There will no doubt be efforts on the right to brush Orszag with the red ink that the administration finds itself swimming in, but that's politics as usual. Inheriting the worst economy since the 1930s, Orszag presided over the Herculean task of preventing a complete meltdown and setting the foundation for a recovery. In many ways, he's a reflection of the administration at its best: a rigorous, pragmatic empiricist."[27]

Citigroup (2011-2016)

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After leaving the Obama administration, Orszag took a job with Citigroup[28] in 2011.[29] A 2011 article in New York Magazine suggested Citi's hiring of Orszag "signaled that Citi would be invested in the intellectual marketplace," and that "just about anyone will take the call of a former White House budget director."[17] Orszag held two jobs at Citigroup: Vice Chairman of Corporate and Investment Banking and Chairman of the Financial Strategy and Solutions Group.[30] According to New York Magazine in 2011, "for an ambitious economist like Peter Orszag, going to work for Citigroup represented a choice. As a young staffer working in the Clinton White House, he saw laid before him two different paths: Stiglitzism and Rubinism. There were both intellectual and career-arc components to these. While both are liberal Democrats, Rubin was the consummate insider, whose philosophy was that the free markets, balanced budgets, and limited regulation would create a rising tide that would lift all boats (or at least make Wall Street not complain too much about Clinton's social programs). Stiglitz, the public intellectual, is as concerned with the boats as with the tide. Orszag certainly had a lot in common with Stiglitz's academic mien, having grown up in an intensely intellectual family in Lexington, Massachusetts, outside Boston. His father was the celebrated Yale math professor Steven Orszag. But Orszag possessed an ambition that would take him beyond the ivory tower. He ultimately chose Rubinism. It makes perfect sense that Orszag would have been drawn toward Rubin. It must have been incredibly seductive seeing this world, watching the Rubin wing of the Democratic Party move so easily from government to Wall Street boardrooms to the table with Charlie Rose."[29] While remaining Citigroup's Vice Chair of Corporate and Investment Banking as well as Chairman of Citigroup's Financial Strategy and Solutions Group, in 2015, he rejoined the Brookings Institution as a non-resident senior fellow of the Economic Studies program.[16]

Lazard (2016-present)

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In May 2016, Orszag joined Lazard as Vice Chairman of Investment Banking and Managing Director.[31] He was named Global Co-Head of Healthcare in July 2018, and subsequently Head of North American M&A.[32] Before June 2019, he was the firm's Head of North American M&A and Global Co-Head of Healthcare.[5] Orszag took over as CEO of Lazard's Financial Advisory in April 2019, overseeing the firm's advisory work for corporations and governments.[32] He created Lazard Geopolitical Advisory[33] in 2022[34] while CEO of Lazard's Financial Advisory.[35] Also while in the role, he expanded data analytics and AI for the firm's banking and asset management businesses.[36]

After he was announced as the future CEO of Lazard in early 2023,[36] in September 2023, Orszag said his aim as CEO would include doubling Lazard’s revenue by 2030.[37][38][39] Orszag assumed the position of Lazard CEO on October 1, 2023.[1] He announced plans in late 2023 to expand Lazard's managing directors by ten per year.[40] He recruited former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman to the Lazard board[41] in January 2024, when he also oversaw the board appointment of former Ernst & Young chairman Stephen R. Howe Jr.[42] In mid 2024, Bloomberg reported that Orszag was eyeing the acquisition of firms particularly in the fields of private credit,[43] infrastructure, and real estate.[44] 

Personal life

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At Sylvan Dale Ranch in 2010

Orszag's first wife was Cameron Rachel Hamill.[45][46] They had two children before divorcing.[10] In 2009, he fathered a child with his former girlfriend, Claire Milonas, daughter of shipping magnate Spiros Milonas.[47] In 2010, Orszag married Bianna Golodryga, then co-host of ABC's GMA Weekend.[48] They have a son[49] and a daughter.[50] Orszag is Jewish.[51][52][53] In 2014, a judge ruled in Orszag's favor in a child support case brought by his first wife.[54]

Bibliography

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  • Orszag, Peter. 1999. Administrative Costs in Individual Accounts in the United Kingdom. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
  • Orszag, Peter and Joseph E. Stiglitz. "Rethinking Pension Reform: Ten Myths about Social Security Systems." In Robert Holzman and Joseph Stiglitz, eds., New Ideas about Old Age Security. (The World Bank: 2001).
  • Orszag, Peter, J. Michael Orszag. "The Benefits of Flexible Funding: Implications for Pension Reform in an Uncertain World." In Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics. (The World Bank: 2001).
  • Orszag, Peter, et al. American Economic Policy in the 1990s (MIT Press: 2002)
  • Orszag, Peter, et al. Protecting the American Homeland: A Preliminary Analysis (Brookings Institution Press: 2002)
  • "Implications of the New Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Risk-Based Capital Standard" (March).Fannie Mae Papers 1, no. 2 (March 2002) [55]
  • Orszag, Peter, et al. Saving Social Security: A Balanced Approach (Brookings Institution Press: 2004)
  • Orszag, Peter and Diamond, Peter, Saving Social Security: The Diamond-Orszag Plan (Brookings Institution: Apr. 2005) [1]
  • Orszag, Peter, et al. Protecting the Homeland 2006/7 (Brookings Institution Press: 2006)
  • Orszag, Peter, et al. Aging Gracefully: Ideas to Improve Retirement Security in America (Century Foundation Press: 2006)
  • Orszag, Peter (9 July 2008). "Climate Change Economics". Washington Post. p. A15. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  • Orszag, Peter R. (1 October 2008). "CBO's Analysis of Dodd Substitute Amendment for H.R. 1424" (PDF). Congressional Budget Office. p. 2. Retrieved 3 October 2008.

References

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  1. ^ a b Hirsch, Lauren (26 May 2023). "Lazard Names Peter Orszag to Succeed Ken Jacobs as C.E.O." The New York Times. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  2. ^ Indap, Sujeet; Fontanella-Khan, James (26 May 2023). "Lazard appoints Peter Orszag as chief executive". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  3. ^ Indap, Sujeet; Agnew, Harriet; Massoudi, Arash (13 November 2019). "Ex-Obama adviser leads Lazard quest for bigger share of dealmaking". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  4. ^ J. de la Merced, Michael (24 February 2016). "Ex-Obama Cabinet Official Joins Lazard". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Bloomberg Business: Lazard Hires Citigroup's Orszag for Mergers, Acquisitions". Bloomberg. 24 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Citigroup's Orszag to Oversee Strategy Unit as Chiefs Picked". Bloomberg News. 25 February 2013.
  7. ^ "Peter Orszag Appointed to RSF Board of Trustees". The Russell Sage Foundation. September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  8. ^ Kantor, Jodi (27 March 2009). "Obama's Man on the Budget - Just 40 and Going Like 60". New York Times.
  9. ^ "Orszag biography". University of St Andrews, Scotland. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  10. ^ a b U.S. News & World Report: "10 Things You Didn’t Know About Peter Orszag" By Carol S. Hook November 25, 2008
  11. ^ New York Times: "Bianna Golodryga, Peter R. Orszag" September 24, 2010
  12. ^ Orszag, Peter R. (1991). "Congressional Oversight of the Federal Reserve: Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives". Princeton.
  13. ^ Orszag, Peter Richard (1997). Dynamic analysis of regime shifts under uncertainty: Applications to hyperinflation and privatization (PhD). London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  14. ^ Created by David Wallechinsky. "AllGov - Officials - Orszag, Peter". Retrieved 26 November 2008.
  15. ^ "Possibilities and Perils: The Future of Economic Policy (Peter Orszag)". Social Science and Policy Forum. University of Pennsylvania. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  16. ^ a b c d Peter Orszag to re-join Economic Studies at Brookings, Press Release - Brookings, 8 September 2015 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  17. ^ a b c d e f g "Why Do Capable Public Servants Like Economist Peter Orszag Keep Circling Back From Washington to Wall Street? -- New York Magazine - Nymag". New York Magazine. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  18. ^ a b "FTI Consulting to Acquire Competition Policy Associates Inc".
  19. ^ "Articles by Peter R. Orszag". Bloomberg. 19 January 2022.
  20. ^ a b Klein, Ezra (14 January 2009). "The Number-Cruncher-in-Chief". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  21. ^ "Obama expected to name Peter Orszag OMB director".
  22. ^ Eggen, Dan; Michael A. Fletcher (26 November 2008). "Obama Offers Recovery Proposals: He Announces Two More Officials On Economic Team". Washington Post. p. A03. Retrieved 18 April 2009. Obama named Peter R. Orszag as director of the Office of Management and Budget, the arm of the White House responsible for crafting the federal budget and overseeing the effectiveness of federal programs.
  23. ^ Orszag, Peter R. "Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes: A final blog entry". Director's Blog » Blog Archive ». Congressional Budget Office. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  24. ^ Walter Alarkon (3 November 2009). "OMB director warns growing deficit a threat to American economy".
  25. ^ Archived 15 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ "Obama budget office forecasts $1.47T deficit, high unemployment". Archived from the original on 25 July 2010.
  27. ^ "Orszag a Tough Act to Follow | Progressive Policy Institute". Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  28. ^ Dash, Eric (9 December 2010). "Ex-White House Budget Director Joins Citigroup". The New York Times.
  29. ^ a b Sheman, Gabriela (10 April 2011). "Revolver". New York Magazine. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  30. ^ "Peter R. Orszag: Bio". Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  31. ^ "Ex-Obama Cabinet Official Joins Lazard". New York Times. 24 February 2016.
  32. ^ a b Basak, Sonali (3 April 2019). "Lazard Promotes Peter Orszag to Lead Advisory as Alex Stern Named President". Bloomberg.
  33. ^ Peter Orszag, the techno guy who will dust off Lazard, Les Echos, 2024 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  34. ^ Lazard Geopolitical Advisory in Financial News, Lazard, 13 November 2023 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  35. ^ Jami Miscik Joins Lazard as a Senior Advisor, Geopolitical Advisory, Business Wire - Lazard, 13 October 2022 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  36. ^ a b Peter Orszag: the 'scholar-banker' aiming to restore Lazard's fortunes, Financial Times, 27 May 2023 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  37. ^ Lombardo, Cara (14 September 2023). "Lazard's New CEO Peter Orszag Wants to Double Revenue by 2030". Bloomberg.
  38. ^ Nguyen, Lananh (14 September 2023). "Lazard's next CEO Peter Orszag plans to double revenue by 2030". Reuters.
  39. ^ Basak, Sonali (14 September 2023). "Lazard Incoming CEO Orszag Seeks to Double Revenue by 2030". Bloomberg.
  40. ^ Lazard CEO Orszag to Add Ten Managing Directors a Year in Strategy Push, Bloomberg, 5 December 2023 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  41. ^ Peter Orszag wants to reimagine Lazard. Will his bankers let him?, Financial Times, 3 June 2024 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  42. ^ Lazard Appoints Dan Schulman And Stephen R. Howe Jr. To Its Board Of Directors, Lazard, 30 January 2024 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  43. ^ Lazard Hunts for Private-Credit Acquisition to Boost Asset Management, Bloomberg, 20 June 2024 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  44. ^ Lazard pursues private credit acquisitions for asset management arm, Private Equity Wire, 21 June 2024 Accessed Aug. 16, 2024
  45. ^ Andrews, Helena; Heil, Emily. "The budget that Orszag wanted hidden". The Washington Post. p. C2. The Reliable Source.
  46. ^ New York Times: "Cameron Hamill and Peter Orszag" August 31, 1997
  47. ^ Mark Leibovich, "If Peter Orszag Is So Smart, What Will He Do Now?", January 8, 2010, New York Times
  48. ^ "Bianna Golodryga, Peter R. Orszag". The New York Times. 24 September 2010.
  49. ^ "ABC's Bianna Golodryga Gives Birth to Baby Boy". www.mediabistro.com.
  50. ^ "A Mother's Day Like No Other for Bianna Golodryga". www.adweek.com. 8 May 2016.
  51. ^ Eden, Ami (29 December 2009). "Mazal tov: Peter Orszag and Bianna Golodryga". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  52. ^ Jewish Daily Forward: "The Exodus" by Nathan Guttman September 30, 2010
  53. ^ The Jewish Week: "Tim Boxer At Jewish Women's Foundation" Archived 2013-06-19 at the Wayback Machine May 17, 2012
  54. ^ Andrews-Dyer, Helena (11 July 2014). "Child-support drama ends in legal win for Orszag". The Washington Post.
  55. ^ "Implications of the New Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Risk-based Capital Standard" (PDF). Fannie Mae Papers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2009.
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