Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) said June 11 that Mark Sooby and Harris Ghozali will join the firm after previously working together at Deutsche Bank.

Mark Sooby speaking at Hart Energy’s DUG Permian Basin conference and exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 22. (Source: Hart Energy)

At Lazard, Sooby and Ghozali will serve as managing directors in the firm’s oil and gas financial advisory group based in Houston, where they will advise companies in the global oil and gas sector including on acquisitions and divestitures. Their appointment will take effect on July 2.

“Mark and Harris bring deep expertise and extensive relationships in the energy industry around the world,” Matt Lustig, head of North American investment banking at Lazard, said in a statement. “They will be strong additions to Lazard’s global oil and gas team at a time when we are increasingly active advising energy companies on their most important strategic and financial matters.”

Both Sooby and Ghozali joined Deutsche Bank in 2017 as managing directors focused on companies and investors in exploration and production.

Prior to Deutsche Bank, Sooby had served as managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he had been responsible for energy A&D in the Americas since 2006. He had also been with Petrie Parkman & Co. for seven years, until its acquisition by Merrill Lynch in 2006.

Ghozali also joined Deutsche Bank from America Merrill Lynch, where he had served as a managing director since 2011. Prior to that, he spent 14 years at Ryder Scott, managing and leading reserves evaluations and technical due diligence.

Sooby began his energy career as an engineer in the nuclear department for Kansas Gas & Electric Co. and Ghozali began his as a petroleum engineer with Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM).