Ex-Barclays CFO Kheraj quits Lazard role after two months

Former Barclays CFO Naguib Kheraj is leaving his role as chief executive of investment advisory Lazard after just two months in the job, because he has not been able to juggle it with his philanthropic activities.

Kheraj joined Lazard on 1 January in a role that reportedly was created for him, but in a statement he said that he “underestimated the difficulty of managing my external activities in a way that would enable me to be properly engaged in an executive role.” He is chairman of the national committee at the Aga Khan Development Network, a charity working on environmental, education, rural development and health projects in the global Muslim community. “I am very sad to be leaving Lazard, and have not taken this decision lightly,” Mr. Kheraj said.

Kheraj was previously chief executive of JPMorgan Cazenove and was CFO of Barclays before that. He has also served as a senior advisor to the Financial Services Authority and HM Revenue & Customs.

On his appointment to CEO at JPMorgan Cazenove he said: “As a chief executive, you are more the driver of the business,” he said. “If I’d wanted to stay as an FD, I would have stayed at Barclays.”