Blackstone Group, the US private equity firm, has hired Hamilton James, a former veteran of Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ), as vice-chairman.

James, who spent a quarter of a century at DLJ, is credited with having built up the bank's investment banking division which profited immensely from the boom in the leveraged buy-out market in the 1990s. DLJ was acquired by Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) two years ago.