Last year at JPMorgan Chase’s investor day Dimon said that the timetable for his departure was “less than five years.” When asked Monday how many more years he would remain as CEO, Dimon said: “The intent is the same as last year. Nothing has changed at all.”
Dimon, who spoke last Monday, touted what he sees as the bank’s strong leadership pipeline. He said JPMorgan Chase, which has $4.4 trillion in assets as of March 31, has built a “very deep bench” and expressed confidence the bank would thrive no matter who serves as its leader, Dimon said.
The JPMorgan Chase CEO said it was prudent to be thinking about success but whether he stays isn’t his choice. Dimon, who is 69, is relatively young for a financial services CEO. Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of Blackstone, is 78 while BlackRock’s Larry Fink is 72.
“Obviously it’s up to the board. If I’m here for four more years or two or three, that’s a long time. It’s like a lot of the present value of the world, okay?” Dimon said.
Dimon’s retirement, and who will replace him, is a hot topic of Wall Street chatter. Earlier this year, during a bank town hall, Dimon told employees that he planned to remain CEO “for a few more years” and would then transition to a chairman’s position, Fortune reported in March.
“Investors [are] not quite ready for CEO Jamie Dimon to pass on the baton,” wrote Ebrahim Poonawala, a Bank of America research analyst in a May 15 research note.
3 potential successors
Dimon is one of the most successful Wall Street CEOs. Since taking over as JPMorgan Chase’s CEO in 2006, the bank’s share price has soared more than 500%. On Monday, the stock closed at $264.88, off 5% from their 52-week high of $280.25 that the bank reached in February.
“JPM under the current CEO has been a best-in-class bank marked by consistency, growth, efficiency, resiliency, and enterprising culture,” wrote Mike Mayo, head of large bank research at Wells Fargo, in a May 11 research note.
The race to replace Dimon changed earlier this year when two contenders opted out. In January, Jennifer Piepszak became chief operating officer and told the bank she wouldn’t seek the CEO position. Daniel Pinto, who was president and COO and was considered Dimon’s right hand, announced that month he would step down in June.
Dimon on Monday singled out Pinto at the end of the investor day, saying “what a great partner he’s been all these years.” JPMorgan Chase’s “world class investment bank and world class risk management systems” were because of Pinto’s efforts, Dimon said.
The JPMorgan Chase investor day was an audition for the three current candidates to replace Dimon. The lead contenders for Dimon’s position are Marianne Lake, CEO of consumer and community banking (CCB), and Troy Rohrbaugh, co-CEO of the commercial and investment bank (CIB), Mayo wrote.
Lake has spent 25 years at JPMorgan Chase and was previously CEO of consumer lending from 2019 to 2021. Lake is close to many executives at JPMorgan Chase, including Piepszak with whom she ran Chase Bank, the Wall Street Journal said.
Rohrbaugh, a 20-year veteran of JPMorgan Chase, was previously co-head of markets and securities services and lead macro markets, which includes the rates, foreign exchange, emerging markets and commodities businesses. Rohrbaugh is down-to-earth and very approachable, colleagues told Fortune last year.
Also in the running is Douglas Petno, co-CEO of the commercial and investment bank. Petno has worked for JPMorgan Chase for 35 years and most recently served as co-head of global banking.
“Successfully running a large bank is a difficult task, but whoever eventually takes the reins will likely start with a relatively stronger hand than some (though, with big shoes to fill),” Mayo wrote.
