The battle at JPMorgan to replace CEO Jamie Dimon is heating up, even as the banking giant does a good job of keeping the mayhem from leaking to the press.
The legendary financier recently shocked the banking world by saying he would step down sooner than the original five-year deadline, probably in two or three years, around age 70.
I say “shocked” because Dimon is still going strong, having kept JPMorgan mostly scandal-free and holding the distinction of being the only CEO to successfully lead a major bank through numerous challenges, including the 2008 financial crisis.
Still, Dimon is said to have set up a three-way race between Marianne Lake, head of consumer banking, Jennifer Piepszak, co-head of JPMorgan’s investment and commercial banking, and Troy Loebaugh, the other co-CEO of commercial and investment banking.
On the Money has heard the field is actually much broader: Global banking co-head Doug Petno is a rising star within JPMorgan and has been mentioned as a possible successor to Dimon.
I’ve also heard that JPMorgan’s head of external asset management, Mary Ardos, can’t be taken lightly either: She has her downsides, too: Her people continued to do business with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein even after he was convicted of sexually soliciting minors.
Erdoz was not alone in inviting Epstein back into the Wall Street tent and ultimately kicked him off his platform. Dimon, on the other hand, believes she is one of the most customer-focused executives around, which is one of the top priorities for any CEO. Moreover, her division is key in the JPM ecosystem, and she has embraced AI as a key tool in asset management.
We’re also hearing that it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Dimon were to look outside the company for a replacement. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf, an old friend of Dimon’s from his days at JPM as well as Citigroup and Travelers Group, is one candidate under consideration within the company. It’s unclear how seriously Dimon is considering Scharf now, but the two have maintained a close relationship for many years.
Scharf may be the person in the banking industry who comes closest to matching Dimon’s skill set, having run a major bank and understanding the customer and risk sides of the balance sheet.
He has also turned around a company that was in turmoil from a fake bank accounts scandal.Wells shares are up 122% from their low in 2020, when Scharf took over.Dimon is said to be aware of that, which is one of the reasons the race to succeed him is becoming so intriguing.
