Lazard elects Citi ex-chairman Parsons to board

Investment bank Lazard Ltd on Wednesday said it elected Parsons, effective immediately. He stepped down at Citigroup's annual meeting in April, after serving as a director for 16 years and chairman since February 2009.

During his tenure at Citi, the third-largest U.S. bank required multiple government bailouts during the financial crisis but showed signs of revival under Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit.

In March, the bank suffered a setback when it was one of only a handful of large financial institutions that failed to win approval from regulators for a dividend increase or share buyback. At its annual meeting in April, shareholders gave a surprising vote of no confidence in the bank's executive compensation plan.

Parsons is best known as the politically connected former chief executive and chairman of Time Warner Inc . He is a member of the White House Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, a senior adviser to Providence Equity Partners and a director of the high-end beauty products company Estée Lauder Cos Inc .

Lazard is a financial advisory and asset management firm. Its board now has 11 members. A spokeswoman declined to comment on Parsons' election.

Lazard's shares were up 3 cents to $22.99 in afternoon trading.

(Reporting By Tanya Agrawal in Bangalore and Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, North Carolina; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Gunna Dickson)