JPMorgan Chase names potential successors to CEO Jamie Dimon

By: Ariel Z.

JPMorgan Chase is preparing for the day when Jamie Dimon is no longer head of the banking behemoth.

The board of directors at JPMorgan Chase said a top priority for the bank is to “plan for an orderly CEO transition in the medium term,” according to its latest proxy statement which was released on Monday.

According to the bank, the board “is spending significant time on developing Operating Committee members who are well-known to shareholders as strong potential CEO candidates.”

The proxy statement makes mention of several potential successors to Dimon who were promoted to new positions.

Jennifer Piepszak and Troy Rohrbaugh were recently elevated to co-CEOs of JPMorgan’s commercial and investment banking division while Marianne Lake assumed the CEO role at consumer and community banking.

Mary Erdoes, CEO of asset and wealth management, and Daniel Pinto, president and chief operating officer, were also mentioned in the proxy statement.

The board said that “these senior management changes and new alignment will help the Firm better serve its clients as well as further develop the Firm’s most senior leaders.”

Pinto was singled out by the board as someone who “is immediately ready to fulfill the responsibilities” of the CEO “should the need arise in the near-term.”

JPMorgan, which is the nation’s largest lender when measured by assets under its management, has made no secret of its fondness for Pinto. At its “investor day” two years ago, the bank said Pinto was ready to step in for Dimon.

JPMorgan’s succession plans for the post-Dimon era have long been fodder for speculation on Wall Street, which in recent months has been rocked by high-profile leadership changes at Morgan Stanley and Lazard.

James Gorman stepped down at the helm of Morgan Stanley after 14 years as head of the bank. He was replaced by reputed “party animal” and foul-mouthed executive Ted Pick.

Peter Orszag, former vice chairman of investment banking at the advisory firm Lazard, took over for CEO Ken Jacobs in this past fall.

Dimon, who has run JPMorgan Chase for more than 18 years, indicated last year that he plans to depart in three-and-a-half years.

He has so far refused to rule out a potential post-banking political career.

Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager, last year endorsed a potential Dimon presidential candidacy.

When asked if he would ever consider entering politics, Dimon told Bloomberg News last year that “maybe one day I’ll serve my country in one capacity or another.”

The 68-year-old Dimon, who has a net worth estimated by Forbes at $2.2 billion, is credited with leading JPMorgan Chase out of the tumultuous 2008 financial crisis.

Last year, Dimon stepped in to help the ailing banking industry following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank of New York and First Republic.

JPMorgan acquired a majority of First Republic’s assets and assumed the deposits and other liabilities from the California-based lender.