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 proficient deputies — Jennifer Piepszak and Marianne Lake — into the highlight because the board ready to grant Dimon a bonus if he stays chief government officer one other half-decade.

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

In the meantime, Piepszak has expressed reticence previously about taking the highest job, whereas Lake has at the least entertained alternatives elsewhere, folks accustomed to the matter mentioned, asking to not be recognized discussing personal talks. And Dimon reveals no indicators he views his retention bundle as a profession nearer.

Such is the endlessly evolving succession buzz atop the nation’s largest financial institution, the place life below 67-year-old Dimon is extra worthwhile than ever, and life after him is simply as hazy. The query of who would possibly steward the agency is one which looms over the trade — providing its most outstanding perch in addition to accountability 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 decide and persuaded the others to stay round — establishing an unusually easy handoff for Jan. 1.

One key distinction is that Gorman mentioned he was wanting to attempt 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 provided assurances that its succession planning is powerful and constantly up to date. As Dimon himself instructed buyers this 12 months: “The board may be very comfy that we’ve acquired actually high selections 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 particular person the financial institution would possibly select from the subsequent era for an orderly transition and a protracted 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 — reminiscent of Troy Rohrbaugh and Marc Badrichani, who co-lead markets and securities companies, in addition to funds head Takis Georgakopoulos and chief technique and progress 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 file might give the subsequent CEO secure footing, it has additionally raised questions on who else is as much as the duty.

Piepszak has gained momentum as the highest candidate lately, clinching a collection of promotions and constructing relationships with different senior executives, colleagues mentioned. Although she has privately instructed a number of those that she isn’t certain she desires the job, one government mentioned that’s not the case right this moment. Regardless, if the board in the end desires her, it’s going to strategy her.

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

Her title has come up in various CEO searches and, in some circumstances, 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 high job.