Good morning. CEO succession planning can be challenging as the board must identify a leader with the right skills and experience. So choosing a successor for Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, is a tall order.
Two executives once considered top contenders for the CEO job at JPMorgan, have exited the race to succeed Dimon. Daniel Pinto, president and chief operating officer (COO), will step down from his role on June 30, and will officially retire in 2026, the firm announced in January. And Jennifer Piepszak, who will take his place as COO, claims to have no interest in taking the top job. Piepszak, a more than 30-year veteran at the firm, served as co-chief executive officer of the commercial and investment bank since January 2024. She was also previously CFO.
At the UBS Financial Services Forum on Tuesday, JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum was asked about succession planning at the firm. "I think for a company like ours, with a CEO like Jamie, it's particularly important to have succession be an essential aspect and an essential strategic priority for how the company is run,” Barnum said. And that’s a top priority of the board, he said.
Barnum noted that he’s not on the inside of those discussions. “But my impression from the outside is that the level of focus and fairness and discipline with which the board is thinking about questions of succession is as high as ever,” he said. “We have a very deep and strong bench, and the focus on succession is as clear and as strong as ever."
Last year, Dimon, who ranks No. 5 on Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful People in Business list, commented that his departure from JPMorgan is getting closer, saying the timeline is "not five years anymore." Dimon previously named Pinto his “hit by a bus” CEO, meaning the exec is equipped to step into the leadership role at any time if he was incapacitated for any reason, Fortune reported.
JPMorgan has benefited from Pinto’s clarity of thinking, grace under pressure, and the depth of his insight, Barnum said during the fireside chat. Pinto, who has been with the firm for more than 40 years, has deep experience in markets all around the world and is a “differentiating feature of our franchise,” he said.
Barnum, CFO since 2021, joined the firm in 1994. Pinto has been "a critical figure in the second half of my career,” Barnum said. “I've learned a lot from him. He's been a big supporter of mine.”
JPMorgan is No. 12 in the Fortune 500, so its CEO succession race will surely be closely watched.
