Dimon’s Inheritor at JPMorgan Nonetheless Hazy as Extra Years Tick By

Midway via Jamie Dimon’s particular incentive to remain 5 extra years atop JPMorgan Chase & Co., insiders are predicting extra senior management adjustments to assist potential successors collect expertise.

A administration shuffle in mid-2021 put two gifted deputies — Jennifer Piepszak and Marianne Lake — into the highlight because the board ready to grant Dimon a bonus if he stays chief govt officer one other half-decade.

However with neither the clear frontrunner, colleagues say the 2 consumer-banking co-heads will possible have to deal with new assignments earlier than one is able to run the entire firm.

In the meantime, Piepszak has expressed reticence prior to now about taking the highest job, whereas Lake has a minimum of entertained alternatives elsewhere, individuals acquainted with the matter stated, asking to not be recognized discussing personal talks. And Dimon exhibits no indicators he views his retention bundle as a profession nearer.

Such is the endlessly evolving succession buzz atop the nation’s greatest financial institution, the place life underneath 67-year-old Dimon is extra worthwhile than ever, and life after him is simply as hazy. The query of who may steward the agency is one which looms over the trade — providing its most distinguished perch in addition to duty for a $3.9 trillion stability sheet.

JPMorgan vs. Morgan Stanley

The limbo at JPMorgan compares with the crisp succession planning this 12 months at Morgan Stanley, the place longtime chief James Gorman, 65, introduced he was able to conduct a bake-off for his job.

Within the ensuing months, Gorman and the board reviewed a slate of viable candidates, made their choose and persuaded the others to stay round — organising an unusually clean handoff for Jan. 1.

One key distinction is that Gorman stated he was desperate to strive one thing new. Dimon’s ardour is overseeing the behemoth he helped construct.

This account of the state of play in JPMorgan is predicated on interviews with greater than a dozen present and former executives and others near the agency’s management.

Although a JPMorgan spokesperson declined to remark, the financial institution has repeatedly supplied assurances that its succession planning is powerful and persistently up to date. As Dimon himself instructed traders this 12 months: “The board may be very snug that we’ve received actually prime decisions right here.”

JPMorgan has already established that President Daniel Pinto, 60, is able to take over in an emergency or accelerated handoff. He co-led the agency in 2020 when Dimon underwent coronary heart surgical procedure.

The larger query is which individual the financial institution may select from the subsequent technology for an orderly transition and an extended tenure.

Lake vs. Piepszak

That’s why most eyes are on Lake, 54, and Piepszak, 53. Insiders say others are additionally seen as coming into the fray — resembling Troy Rohrbaugh and Marc Badrichani, who co-lead markets and securities providers, in addition to funds head Takis Georgakopoulos and chief technique and development officer Sanoke Viswanathan.

Succession is a formidable problem for Dimon, placing his legacy at stake. He has run JPMorgan for 18 years, rising it via the 2008 monetary disaster after which adapting it to an period of stiffer regulation and digital banking. He got here out forward once more throughout this 12 months’s turmoil in regional banking, scooping up First Republic to bolster JPMorgan’s presence in Silicon Valley.

Whereas Dimon’s monitor document could give the subsequent CEO steady footing, it has additionally raised questions on who else is as much as the duty.

Piepszak has gained momentum as the highest candidate in recent times, clinching a collection of promotions and constructing relationships with different senior executives, colleagues stated. Although she has privately instructed a number of those who she isn’t positive she desires the job, one govt stated that’s not the case right now. Regardless, if the board finally desires her, it’s going to strategy her.

Lake, Piepszak’s shut buddy and mentor-turned-co-head atop the agency’s big shopper banking enterprise, has prolonged her tenure as a senior govt recognized for an in-the-weeds understanding of the agency.

Her title has come up in a lot of CEO searches and, in some instances, she has entertained overtures. She interviewed to run Wells Fargo & Co. in 2019 and this 12 months held preliminary talks with PayPal Holdings Inc. about that agency’s prime job.