NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-based Lazard Ltd. named Kenneth Jacobs, head of the investment bank's North American businesses, as chairman and chief executive officer, succeeding Bruce Wasserstein, who died last month.

Jacobs, 51, takes over from interim CEO Steven Golub, 63, who will continue as vice-chairman of Lazard and chairman of the financial-advisory group, the firm said yesterday in a statement.

A 21-year veteran of Lazard, Jacobs will lead the company as the worst market for mergers and acquisitions since 2003 shows signs of a rebound. The firm's third-quarter profit of $52.5 million beat analysts' estimates as restructuring work helped compensate for the slowdown in mergers.

"Jacobs is clearly qualified for the position because he has run the North American operations of the company," Richard Bove, vice president and equity research analyst at Rochdale Securities LLC, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "It should be positive for Lazard."

Wasserstein, the pre-eminent Wall Street dealmaker who took Lazard public in 2005, died at 61 on Oct. 14, setting off a succession contest at the 161-year-old firm. Golub was a potential candidate for the post, according to current and former bankers at the firm who weren't privy to the board's deliberations. Other possible CEOs included deputy chairman Gary Parr, 52.

Parr was named yesterday to the board of directors with Ashish Bhutani, 49, effective January 4. Bhutani will continue as chief executive of Lazard Asset Management. Steven Heyer, 57, a director since Lazard's IPO in 2005, was named lead director, a new board position, effective immediately.

Jacobs joined Lazard in 1988 from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and became a partner in 1991. This year, he worked with Philadelphia's Haas family, the major shareholder of Rohm & Haas Co., on the company's $16.5 billion sale to Dow Chemical Co. He also helped GlaxoSmithKline Plc on its $2.9 billion purchase of Stiefel Laboratories Inc.

"We are confident that Mr. Jacobs will continue to successfully grow the firm, building on its enduring strategy of independence and intellectual capital," the board of directors said in the statement. Lazard, which has climbed 33 percent on the New York Stock Exchange this year, gained more than two percent in yesterday's trading to climb above $40.

Jacobs graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Chicago in 1980 and received his masters in business administration from Stanford University in 1984.

"This was the first time that Lazard actually had a board choosing a successor," said William Cohan, a Bloomberg Television contributing editor who wrote "The Last Tycoons" about Lazard in 2007. "So in that sense I think it reflects a cooler and more thoughtful process."

As part of the management changes announced today, Antonio Weiss, 43, was named global head of investment banking. Weiss relocated to New York from Europe earlier this year to become the global head of mergers and acquisitions. He is currently advising Kraft Foods Inc. on its $16.4 billion hostile bid for Cadbury Plc.

Weiss's clients include private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., ITT Corp. and Fiat SpA. Weiss also led the Lazard team that advised brewer InBev NV on its $52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch Cos. last year.

Jacobs will work in partnership Weiss and Alex Stern, 43, who was recently named chief operating officer, Lazard said in the statement.

Chief financial officer Michael Castellano said earlier this month that the M&A market is improving after deal-making dropped to the slowest pace since 2003.