JPMorgan says CEO transition is a top priority, cites potential Dimon successors

JPMorgan Chase’s board said an orderly CEO transition is a top priority for the largest U.S. bank in the medium term, 18 years after Jamie Dimon took the helm.

Succession is in focus across Wall Street. Morgan Stanley’s new CEO Ted Pick took over at the start of the year from James Gorman, who had run the bank for 14 years. Peter Orszag took the reins at Lazard in October. And other banks have rotated executives around divisions to give them a more well-rounded experience.

The company has been gradually building up more dialogue around succession since Dimon’s emergency surgery in March 2020, said Chris Marinac, director of research at financial adviser Janney Montgomery Scott.

“However, I don’t think that this means that Dimon is leaving tomorrow, he could be here for a few more years,” Marinac said.

The board is “spending significant time on developing operating committee members who are well-known to shareholders as strong potential CEO candidates,” it said in a proxy statement.

They include Jennifer Piepszak and Troy Rohrbaugh, recently appointed co-CEOs of JPMorgan’s expanded commercial and investment bank, consumer and community banking CEO Marianne Lake, and asset and wealth management CEO Mary Erdoes.

Meanwhile, President and Chief Operating Officer Daniel Pinto continued to be listed as the executive who could step in for the CEO in the near term, as he did in 2020 when Dimon had an emergency heart surgery.

“Should the need arise in the near-term, we view Mr. Pinto as a key executive who is immediately ready to fulfill the responsibilities of the CEO,” the statement said.

In his annual letter to shareholders on Monday, Dimon hailed U.S. leadership and economic power to shareholders, invoking “liberty and justice for all.”

Dimon, who took the reins in 2006, is among a group of financial CEOs whose names have been floated for senior economic roles in government.

The Wall Street Journal last week reported that allies of former U.S. President Donald Trump were considering senior Wall Street executives, including Dimon, for the role of Treasury secretary.

Dimon’s compensation climbed about 4.3% to $36 million in 2023. Pinto’s total compensation came in at $30 million, while Erdoes was paid $27 million.

Piepszak and Lake each earned $18.5 million in 2023, while Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum earned $15 million.

The lender also announced that two directors on its board – Timothy Flynn and Michael Neal – have decided to retire when their terms expire on the eve of its 2024 annual meeting of shareholders in May.

JPMorgan’s shares were marginally higher in premarket trading. It is set to report first-quarter results on Friday. – Reuters