New LA Times biz columnist coming from SF Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle business columnist David Lazarus is leaving the paper to become a business columnist for the Los Angeles Times, according to a memo from business editor Davan Maharaj posted on the LA Observed web site.

Maharaj wrote, “His role at The Times will be to stick up for readers and to help them understand business and economic trends. He will also offer a fresh perspective on the news of the day. Bringing David on board reflects the enhancing of news-you-can-use and consumer coverage in the Business section. His column will be one more reason for people who might not ordinarily turn to the section to become regular readers.

“David is a two-time winner of the National Headliner Award, and, among other honors, has been named Journalist of the Year by both the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists and the Consumer Federation of California.

“David grew up in Southern California and attended Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and lived overseas for 12 years, including a two-year stint in Bloomberg’s Tokyo bureau. He has written for Fortune, the International Herald Tribune, National Geographic and numerous other publications.”

Earlier this year, the SF Weekly named Lazarus the best newspaper columnist.