JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has announced a major series of promotions and title changes, with a potential successor to run the largest U.S. bank among them.
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summed up the changes as “new and increased responsibilities for a number of key executives that will build upon the company’s successes and continue to position the firm for the future.”
JPMorgan Chase’s stock fell 0.4%. Trading in the bank’s bonds was little changed, according to a market source.
Among the moves, Jennifer Piepszak will be co-chief executive of an expanded commercial and investment bank, with Troy Rohrbaugh as co-chief executive.
JPMorgan President and Chief Operating Officer Daniel Pinto will no longer have day-to-day control of corporate and investment banking. In a statement, Dimon said Pinto would continue to jointly manage the company with him. Pinto took over briefly in 2020 when Dimon had heart surgery.
Piepszak had been co-chief executive of JPMorgan’s consumer and community banking, a title she shared with Marianne Lake, who will now be sole chief executive of the massive business, which serves 80 million consumers and 6 million small businesses.
Piepszak and Lake have also been working on absorbing First Republic Bank, which JPMorgan Chase acquired last year. The Wall Street Journal earlier this year flagged Lake and Piepszak as potential contenders for Dimon’s job. The two are also former financial chiefs of the bank — Lake from 2013 to 2019 and Piepszak from 2019 to 2021. The current CFO is Jeremy Barnum.
Rohrbaugh was co-head of markets and securities services prior to his new position as co-chief executive with Piepszak of commercial investment banking.
CFRA analyst Kenneth Leon told MarketWatch that Lake and Piepszak had already been seen as potential successors to Dimon, while Rohrbaugh is well known mostly inside the bank.
“Dimon often talks about having a ‘fortress’ balance sheet, but he also has a strong bench,” said Leon, who maintains a buy rating on the bank. “In the last few years, he’s kept his management team. … It’s impressive that he can engage his senior management.”
While Dimon, 67, has not announced any immediate plans to step down, he’s the longest-serving chief executive of the country’s largest bank, with 18 years in the job.
Another longtime chief executive, James Gorman, retired this year after 14 years running Morgan Stanley
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Dimon has a strong incentive to stay at the bank until 2026, as laid out in a 1.5 million-share retention bonus he was awarded in 2021.
In terms of the changes at the bank, JPMorgan’s expanded commercial and investment bank under Piepsazk and Rohrbaugh will combine global investment banking, commercial banking and corporate banking, along with markets, securities services and global payments.
Janney analyst Christopher Marinac said JPMorgan and other major banks are required to update federal banking regulators on their succession plans, and this announcements fits that mandate.
“This should be a reminder that Jamie eventually retires and that there is a real game plan in place on the specific people to run the business,” Marinac said. “Investors likely worry anyways about ‘life without Jamie’ and it should be important for these leaders to stay visible with investors so they better appreciate the depth of the company’s management team and bench.”
Among the other key changes:
Doug Petno, chief executive of commercial banking, will also take over the global corporate banking group.
Viswas Raghavan will become sole head of the global investment banking franchise, while Jim Casey, who was co-head of investment banking with Raghavan, will have a new role to be announced shortly, the bank said.
Marc Badrichani, co-head of markets and securities services, has told the bank he wants to pursue outside opportunities. “He will work with his senior colleagues in the near term on transition plans for the Sales and Research group,” the bank said.
Jason Sippel and Pranav Thakur will become co-heads of the company’s markets trading business.
Tim Fitzgerald will continue to lead securities services.
Takis Georgakopoulos will continue as head of global payments “through its transformation and growth initiatives — a major strategic imperative for the firm and a critical service for its largest and most complex wholesale clients,” the bank said.
Mary Erdoes will remain as chief executive of asset and wealth management.
The company-wide operating committee remains unchanged at this time.
“Looking back on the past two decades, it’s remarkable to see how our businesses have significantly grown revenue, increased market share, delivered outstanding products and services to our customers and expanded into new markets — all while serving our employees and shareholders and lifting up our communities,” Dimon said.
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