JPMorgan’s Piepszak exits CEO race for now, making contest murkier

By Nupur Anand, Niket Nishant, Saeed Azhar

(Reuters) -One of the leading contenders to become CEO of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:), Jennifer Piepszak, on Tuesday took herself out of the running for now, raising the chances of a trio of other executives vying for Wall Street’s top job.  

Investors have been focused on who will succeed Jamie Dimon, one of the most influential figures in global business, as CEO of JPMorgan for years. Tuesday’s announcement cast more uncertainty over who will eventually replace Dimon, who in 2024 announced he could step down in as soon as two and a half years, analysts and sources said.    

Piepszak, who currently serves as co-CEO of the commercial and investment bank, will succeed Daniel Pinto, a top lieutenant of Dimon and a four-decade veteran at JPMorgan. Pinto will relinquish his role as president and COO on June 30 and retire at the end of 2026.

The biggest U.S. bank has rotated executives across divisions in recent years to give them more experience.

“Piepszak has made clear her preference for a senior operating role, working closely with Jamie and in support of the top leadership and she doesn’t want to be considered for the CEO position at this time,” a bank spokesperson said.

The executive has held major roles in her three decades at JPMorgan. She was its finance chief from 2019 to 2021, and also ran card services and business banking after spending 17 years climbing the ranks in investment banking.

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The contenders for CEO now include Marianne Lake, CEO of consumer and community banking and Troy Rohrbaugh, head of the commercial and investment bank (CIB). Doug Petno, the current co-head of global banking, is another CEO contender who will now join Rohrbaugh as co-head of the CIB.

“This makes the succession at JPM murkier for longer,” said Mike Mayo, banking analyst at Wells Fargo (NYSE:), who still sees Piepszak as a CEO contender. “It is a race between Lake and Piepszak, and seems like the latter got a leg up, but this is not over yet.”

Dimon’s next steps have long been the subject of speculation. 

“Jamie Dimon is a tough act to follow, even though he’s done a great job shuffling top executives around to gain more experience,” said David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors LLC. 

JPMorgan plans to split the CEO and chairman jobs currently held by Dimon after he eventually steps down, according to its proxy statement.

Dimon is credited with steering the bank through the 2008 financial crisis and regional bank turmoil in 2023. During his tenure, JPMorgan became the largest bank in the U.S., far surpassing its rivals.

Pinto was previously cited by the board as the executive who could step in for the CEO on short notice, like he did in 2020 when Dimon had an emergency heart surgery. Dimon said Pinto had done a “truly exceptional job” in every role he played at the firm.

“When a CEO is at the helm for so long, many of his proteges get older and would prefer to ride off into the sunset than take on a position that they’re likely expected to be there for a decade,” Wagner added.