Shelly to focus to building out firm's U.S. ultra-high-net-worth practice. Investment bank Lazard Group has hired Thaddeus Shelly, formerly head of Bessemer Trust's mid-Atlantic, southern and southeastern U.S. region, to run its new Private Wealth Management group.

Veteran

"Thad is a well-established leader in the private client industry, and we are delighted that he will use that experience and expertise to help lead and expand our private wealth management business," says Lazard's president Charles Ward.

Prior to joining New York-based Bessemer in the mid 1990s, Shelly founded and led Baltimore-based Legg Mason's ultra-high-net-worth business. Before that, he was a v.p. with Goldman Sachs' private-client business.

Right now, Lazard serves ultra-high-net-worth clients and family offices through its Lazard Asset Management and Lazard Frères Gestion subsidiaries. Initially it plans to concentrate on building out its standalone private-wealth group in the U.S.

New York-based Lazard had $134.1 billion in total assets under management at the end of June 2008. -FWR

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