JPM JP Morgan Chase and Co

Staff changes at the bank put two female executives in position to become next CEO

By David Benoit 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (April 18, 2019).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. put two women with decades of experience at the bank at the top of the list to one day succeed James Dimon as chief executive.

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. The changes will take effect May 1.

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 contender to succeed Mr. Dimon, but analysts and others monitoring the succession race believed she first 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 JPMorgan's 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 largest U.S. bank would be a major development for women, who occupy few senior roles in the banking business and on Wall Street.

The suggested time frame for succession 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. The two men, who assumed their current roles plus president titles in a shake-up a year ago, are considered candidates were Mr. Dimon to depart sooner than expected.

Mr. Dimon was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but made a full recovery.

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.

Mr. Dimon joined JPMorgan in 2004 when the New York bank bought Bank One Corp. and he became CEO in 2005.

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 finance chief of its mortgage business.

Mr. Dimon enjoys an unparalleled level of job security among big-bank CEOs, having steered JPMorgan through the financial crisis to record profits.

Still, Wall Street has long obsessed over the timing of his departure. Mr. Dimon recently said he wouldn't run for president, a question he gets often at public appearances, and his name was floated as a possible candidate for Treasury secretary following Donald Trump's 2016 election.

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 18, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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