The Blackstone Group has appointed Richard Jenrette, co-founder of Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, to the board of directors. Blackstone has an open slot because Lord Jacob Rothschild is resigning from the board.

Jenrette was DLJ’s chairman and ceo and spearheaded the firm’s IPO, which made history when it became the first publicly traded investment banking firm in the U.S.

Jenrette also served as chairman and ceo of The Equitable Companies and was at one time the chairman of the Securities Industry Association. He has also been either a director or trustee at the following institutions: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Advanced Micro Devices, the American Stock Exchange, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Duke Endowment, University of North Carolina and the New York University, among others.

“Dick is a leading figure in the world of finance and I’m confident that Blackstone will greatly benefit from his expertise, his record of innovation and his many leadership roles in the financial services sector,” said Blackstone chairman and ceo Stephen Schwarzman.