Lazard has acquired Altamoda, the independent financial advisory firm founded by Grégoire Heuzé, bringing Heuzé and his entire team into Lazard’s Financial Advisory business in Paris.
As part of the transaction, Grégoire Heuzé has been appointed Managing Director at Lazard, while all members of the Altamoda team will join the firm.
Altamoda was founded by Heuzé in 2021 and developed a financial advisory practice focused on senior corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and investors.
Lazard said the acquisition strengthens its relationships with major business leaders and supports its broader growth ambitions across France and Europe.
The transaction also represents a return to Lazard for Heuzé, who began his investment banking career at the firm.
Before launching Altamoda, Heuzé was a Partner at Centerview in 2021.
He previously spent approximately 13 years at Rothschild, serving first as Managing Director and later as Partner between 2007 and 2020.
Earlier in his career, from 2005 to 2007, Heuzé served as an advisor in the office of the French Prime Minister.
Heuzé is a graduate of Sciences Po and ESSEC and also holds a master’s degree in Medieval History from the University of Panthéon-Sorbonne.
The acquisition adds an established advisory team to Lazard as the firm continues investing in senior investment banking talent across Europe.
Lazard expects Heuzé and his colleagues to work alongside its existing Managing Directors on complex strategic assignments involving senior executives, entrepreneurs and financial investors.
The addition fits within Lazard’s broader Financial Advisory platform, which advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and capital solutions, restructuring and liability management, geopolitics and other strategic matters.
Lazard operates across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia and also maintains a global asset management business.
For Heuzé, joining Lazard provides Altamoda’s team with access to a broader international advisory platform while maintaining the client relationships developed during the firm’s five years of operation.
KEY QUOTES:
“I am extremely pleased to welcome Grégoire and his team to Lazard, the firm where he began his career. Grégoire has a track record as a top-tier investment banker and has demonstrated with Altamoda his entrepreneurial spirit and his ability to earn and keep the trust of major business leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors. These qualities are exactly what Lazard looks for. Together with Grégoire and all Lazard Managing Directors, we are pursuing the same ambition: to bring the excellence of our advisory work to support our clients’ most strategic challenges,”
Jean-Louis Girodolle, Chief Executive Officer of Lazard in France and Co-Head of Investment Banking in Europe
“These past five years have been a unique entrepreneurial and personal journey that allowed us to deepen the trusted relationships we built with our clients. I am joining Lazard with great enthusiasm and look forward to contributing, alongside Lazard Partners and colleagues, to an ambitious venture. The strength of a great firm like Lazard rests on its reputation, the depth of its expertise, and its international footprint. This makes Lazard uniquely positioned to help clients address the challenges they face today,”
Grégoire Heuzé, Managing Director at Lazard
