Lazard elected Iris Knobloch to its board of directors, effective April 1, 2018. In addition, current independent director Richard Parsons has been named lead director of the board, as part of the board refreshment process.

Steven Heyer, who has served as lead director since November 2009, will continue in his current roles as chairman of the board’s Nominating & Governance Committee, and as a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee.

“Iris will be a strong addition to our board of directors,” said Kenneth M. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Lazard. “We greatly appreciate Steve’s service as lead director for nearly a decade, and we are pleased that he will remain on the board. We are grateful that Dick has agreed to serve as lead director.”

Knobloch has served as president of Warner Bros Entertainment in France since 2006, where she oversees all of its French businesses. She also supervises the company’s home entertainment business in the Benelux region and Warner Bros’ strategic development in Africa. Previously, she was in charge of Time Warner’s International Relations and Strategic Policy for Europe, and also worked in Los Angeles and London.

Prior to Warner Bros, Knobloch served as an attorney with Norr, Stiefenhofer & Lutz and with O’Melveny & Myers in Munich, New York and Los Angeles.