JP Morgan Shuffles Roles of Two Senior Executives
18 April 2019 - 8:33AM
Dow Jones News
By David Benoit
JPMorgan Chase & Co. shuffled the roles of two of the top
executives in line to one day succeed Chief Executive James
Dimon.
Marianne Lake, who has served as chief financial officer since
2012, will leave the role to run all of the bank's consumer-lending
businesses, including its growing credit-card operations as well as
auto lending and mortgages. Jennifer Piepszak, who was running
JPMorgan's credit-card business, will take over as finance
chief.
Ms. Piepszak will join the company's operating committee of top
executives, a group that already includes Ms. Lake.
Ms. Lake has long been viewed as a top contender to succeed Mr.
Dimon, but analysts and others monitoring the succession race
believed she needed experience running one of the bank's major
businesses. A rising star within the bank, Ms. Piepszak's move to
the CFO role makes her one of its most prominent representatives
and gives her broad influence over its far-flung businesses.
Mr. Dimon, 63 years old, is in no hurry to retire. Asked at the
bank's February investor day when he planned to step down, he said:
"Five years. Maybe four now."
The ascension of either Ms. Lake or Ms. Piepszak to the top job
at the nation's largest bank would be a major development for
women, who occupy precious few senior roles in the banking business
and on Wall Street.
The suggested timeframe has led some to assume the bank's
co-chief operating officers -- Gordon Smith, who runs the bank's
consumer and community operations, and investment-banking head
Daniel Pinto -- would be too close to retirement themselves when
Mr. Dimon departs. Both are candidates if Mr. Dimon were to depart
sooner than expected and were given the co-COO and president titles
a year ago in an earlier shakeup.
Both 49, Ms. Lake and Ms. Piepszak are seen as having the right
combination of youth and experience to potentially succeed Mr.
Dimon if he sticks around for another five years.
During his tenure, Mr. Dimon has several times shuffled his
lieutenants to make sure candidates have a wide range of experience
and exposure to the bank. But a number of executives couldn't wait
him out, choosing instead to trade the possibility of the top job
at JPMorgan for CEO roles at other financial institutions.
Ms. Lake, who joined JPMorgan in 1999, will report to Mr. Smith
but have a broad remit in consumer lending in a new role the bank
created for her. She will run the bank's credit-card businesses,
and the heads of mortgage and auto lending will report to her,
according to a memo the bank sent to employees.
In her 25 years at the bank, Ms. Piepszak has run its
business-banking unit and was CFO of its mortgage business.
Last week in a hearing of the U.S. House Financial Services
Committee, Mr. Dimon and six other bank CEOs, all men, were asked
if it was likely a female would succeed them one day. No one
signaled yes. Mr. Dimon later told analysts he didn't intend to
offer any succession clues with his answer.
"We have exceptional women, and my successor may very well be a
woman, but it may not," he said.
Write to David Benoit at david.benoit@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 17, 2019 18:18 ET (22:18 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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