Andrew Lazar has long been interested in the packaged goods industry. Prior to joining the sell side in 1995, the Barclays analyst worked as a strategist advising consumer-goods companies, including Unilever.
"After a couple of years in strategic planning at Unilever, I really wanted to marry my interest in packaged goods with the financial markets, particularly the equities side," he says, "And the analyst role seemed a perfect marriage of those two things."
Lazar debuted on the All-America Research Team in 2001 as a runner-up in Food, rose to second place the following year, captured the top spot in 2003 and has stayed there ever since. This year he achieves entry in the All-America Research Team Hall of Fame, which honors those analysts who have earned ten or more first-place finishes in their respective sectors.
Institutional Investor Senior Writer Julie Segal spoke with Lazar about his career and the changing role of the research analyst.