Mary Ann Deignan is Head of Capital Markets Advisory at Lazard Frères & Co., advising clients on shareholder activism, strategic investor relations, capital raising and corporate governance. Mary Ann joined Lazard from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she was Co-Head of Global Equity Capital Markets, a role she assumed after her tenure as Head of Americas Equity Capital Markets. She also worked for UBS as Head of Americas Equity Capital Markets. Mary Ann began her career at Bankers Trust in leveraged finance.

Mary Ann provides expert guidance across regions and market sectors on a range of shareholder and corporate finance matters including activism preparedness and defense, investor perspectives on M&A and strategic actions, IPO advisory and capital raising, trends in ESG and corporate governance. She has extensive knowledge of the global equity markets and public market investors.

Mary Ann is on the Investment Committee of the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies and the Board of Advisors at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. She has a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth.