How Jamie Dimon’s long succession race claimed another victim

{"text":[[{"start":9.55,"text":"Marianne Lake spent 26 years rising through the ranks at JPMorgan Chase. It came to an end in a matter of days."}],[{"start":17.15,"text":"Lake, 56, was given just three days’ notice last month that chief executive Jamie Dimon was elevating two rivals above her, making them his heirs apparent as a decades-long succession race nears its finale."}],[{"start":30.299999999999997,"text":"More than just a snub, Dimon was giving one of the others Lake’s role running the bank’s vast Chase consumer business. Dimon did not go so far as to say there was no longer a role for Lake, but the message was clear."}],[{"start":43.599999999999994,"text":"JPMorgan’s lone female contender to one day succeed Dimon, 70, is now retiring from the bank. She will take at least $50mn in unvested stock with her, according to people familiar with the matter. "}],[{"start":56.55,"text":"As one of the most respected executives on Wall Street, colleagues expect Lake to have her pick of future jobs. Inside JPMorgan, her exit was stunning for being as swift as it was unexpected."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":70.2,"text":"Dimon has run through a string of would-be successors over his two decades at the helm of America’s biggest bank. Before the latest reshuffle, Lake had established herself as one of a trio of executives jostling for the top job, along with 61-year-old Doug Petno and 56-year-old Troy Rohrbaugh."}],[{"start":88.7,"text":"But ahead of her departure, Lake’s relationship with Dimon had been slowly fraying. (JPMorgan disputes this, and said Dimon and Lake “had an excellent relationship”.) There were lingering doubts about her ability to master the leadership skills needed to run one of America’s largest companies."}],[{"start":105.2,"text":"Petno and Rohrbaugh are now co-presidents, and while JPMorgan insists there is no frontrunner, many people believe the job is Rohrbaugh’s to lose."}],[{"start":113.85000000000001,"text":"This account of Lake’s rise at JPMorgan and her ultimate departure is based on conversations with more than 15 current and former colleagues. Lake declined to comment."}],[{"start":123.15,"text":"Born in the US but raised in Britain, the physics graduate started out as an accountant with PwC in London and Sydney. She made the jump to JPMorgan in 1999 to become chief financial officer for its European credit trading business in London, and from there, rose through the ranks in finance and control roles within the investment bank, becoming CFO for the retail business a decade later."}],[{"start":148.8,"text":"Her elevation to CFO of the wider bank came three years later, just as the bank was grappling with the fallout from the London Whale rogue trading scandal, which cost it $6bn."}],[{"start":161.15,"text":"It was that role that shot Lake to prominence, but her chances of one day running JPMorgan would fluctuate for years after."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":168.8,"text":"In 2018, Dimon failed to raise his hand during a Congressional hearing when bank bosses were asked if the next chief executive of their company was likely to be a woman."}],[{"start":178.10000000000002,"text":"The following year, however, Lake was appointed head of the bank’s consumer lending and cards businesses, giving her a JPMorgan operating business to run for the first time. A bigger break still came in 2021, when she was appointed co-head of the Chase consumer business alongside Jennifer Piepszak, at the time another top rival for the CEO job."}],[{"start":200.45000000000002,"text":"At the time of their appointment in 2021 as Chase co-heads, it was Piepszak who was the frontrunner for Dimon’s job. Internally, Piepszak was seen as having the right mix of charisma and the smarts to do the job, and in 2024, she was moved to co-run the commercial and investment bank alongside Rohrbaugh."}],[{"start":220.50000000000003,"text":"Rather than cement Piepszak’s status, that experience would mark the end of her participation in the race. After a year, she abruptly announced that she did not want to be considered for the CEO role. She now serves as JPMorgan’s chief operating officer."}],[{"start":236.30000000000004,"text":"Piepszak’s exit left Lake in a head-to-head race with Petno and Rohrbaugh, who were co-leading JPMorgan’s investment banking and trading division."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":245.40000000000003,"text":"Under Lake’s sole management, the Chase business was growing and she was one of the bank’s most visible executives after Dimon. She was seen as whip-smart and hard-working. “I do think she was the smartest of the group,” one former colleague said of Lake and her two male rivals."}],[{"start":261.85,"text":"Behind the scenes, however, relations between Dimon and Lake could get tense. Her style could be rough around the edges — as CFO she was coached by colleagues to slow down her delivery when speaking. “She’s brilliant,” said one former colleague, who added: “It’s like her brain moved faster than it could come out of her mouth.”"}],[{"start":281.3,"text":"Colleagues said that she lacked the “EQ” — often characterised as emotional intelligence — needed for the top job and could sometimes be heavy-handed. Some who worked with her also thought she could be too far removed from the troops, directing her operation from her office via a chain of command. (JPMorgan disputes this.)"}],[{"start":301.5,"text":"JPMorgan’s management team thought running Chase would give Lake a chance to show that she could hone her presentation and leadership style. The Chase business, with more than $2tn in consumer deposits, is one of JPMorgan’s key profit engines alongside the commercial and investment banking division."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":319.75,"text":"People who worked for her during that time described Lake as demanding and accessible, in their view not unlike Dimon. She made an effort to visit JPMorgan’s vast branch network and meet with the division’s thousands of employees. She also accompanied Dimon on his annual summer bus tour through the US."}],[{"start":338.55,"text":"“She’s the most like Jamie Dimon of the three of them,” said one person who has worked closely with Lake and Dimon of the former trio of leadership contenders. Another top executive described her as the “opposite of far removed”, saying she would “dive down multiple layers of the organisation to get the best information”."}],[{"start":355.15000000000003,"text":"About four years ago, Dimon had also discussed the possibility of Lake spending some time working at JPMorgan’s investment banking and trading division to give her more exposure to the other side of the bank’s business."}],[{"start":368.8,"text":"But she preferred to remain running the Chase retail business, a job she enjoyed. When Piepszak moved to chief operating officer at the start of 2025, it was Petno who took her place with Rohrbaugh atop the commercial and investment bank."}],[{"start":382.7,"text":"Dimon has no plans to step down in the immediate future, and people close to him say he has about three more years left as chief executive. Even if he sticks to that timeline — he has repeatedly extended his tenure — the bank has said that he plans to stay on as executive chair after he relinquishes the CEO role."}],[{"start":402.55,"text":"But after Dimon turned 70 in March, the board of directors (which Dimon leads) wanted to whittle down the list of succession candidates. The decision was made to return to a leadership structure with co-presidents who sat below the chief executive. Previous co-presidents Daniel Pinto and Gordon Smith temporarily ran JPMorgan after Dimon had heart surgery six years ago."}],[{"start":425.6,"text":"The return to a co-president structure meant narrowing the field from three to two. Ultimately, Dimon and the board opted for Petno and Rohrbaugh."}],[{"start":434,"text":"Lake found out on Monday last week, with the news of her rivals’ promotion to be announced publicly at 8am New York time on Thursday. In the intervening days, she hosted an event as part of JPMorgan’s sponsorship of the Olympics."}],[{"start":448,"text":"At 6.45am on the Thursday, Lake invited employees reporting to her to join a call in 45 minutes’ time. She told staff she was leaving and was noticeably emotional while breaking the news. Some members of her team cried. She has continued working on the handover with Rohrbaugh, but from a distance. That Thursday was her last day in the office."}],[{"start":477.45,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783131583_9205.mp3"}