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Jamie Dimon's successors: Who could take over as JPMorgan CEO

JPMorgan CEO Jaime Dimon raised eyebrows when he hinted at a possible run for public office. But he would have to leave JPMorgan first. Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith takes a closer look at who could potentially succeed Dimon as CEO.

Video transcript

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Now, let's talk succession. No, not that one. Though that is my favorite. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has people talking after comments in a Bloomberg interview that he's considering one day running for public office.

Talk of future leadership at Wall Street's biggest banks returned last month after Morgan Stanley CEO, James Gorman, announced he'd stepped down within the year. So when Dimon does move on, who's in pole position to lead a bank running over $3 trillion in assets? "Yahoo Finance's" David Hollerith joins us with more. David, who are the contenders?

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DAVID HOLLERITH: Well, so Rachelle, Jamie Dimon's immediate successor is Daniel Pinto, whose JPMorgan's corporate and investment bank CEO.

So this succession plan has been around for years. And in 2020, it was actually put into test. At the outset of the pandemic when Dimon was struck with a sudden and near-fatal heart injury, Pinto and former COO Gordon Smith served as co-CEOs for about a month. And since Smith has left, Pinto has been the bank's clear de facto number two.

Many analysts I've spoken with don't really bat an eye when saying that they expect Pinto could step in on day one and lead the bank. But I will also point out that Pinto is, after all, 60 years old. So that makes him about four years younger than Gordon and these other CEOs who are giving their succession plans and saying, they'll leave in the next 12 months.

And there's a question about whether or not a board would want to see someone who would stay longer. And to that point, Dimon has been served in his role for nearly 20 years. So if they're looking for anything on par with that, that puts Pinto's state more into question. But he is the de facto, next person who would take the role.

Two other names that come up are co-CEOs of JPMorgan's consumer and community bank. And that's Jennifer Piepszak and Marianne Lake. Both of them are in their mid-fifties and have spent 20 years or more working for JPMorgan and Chase. And they've both served in a variety of different roles in the bank, including both at different times as CFOs.

But, again, we've got to point out just how big of shoes this successor would be filling. Dimon, he's not only the CEO of the largest bank in the US, but he's also looked to as the de facto spokesperson for the US banking sector, especially in recent months.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: So then when you think of big shoes to fill, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has called on Dimon to run for president. So big shoes there, potentially. What's the story there?

DAVID HOLLERITH: There's a little bit of cognitive dissonance, I'll point out, in the media yesterday, just in terms of stories about Jamie Dimon. Ackman came out on Twitter giving a glowing endorsement for Dimon to run for president. And this, of course, came after the "Bloomberg" interview in which he had mentioned that the thought to run for public office had crossed his mind.

Dimon frequently talks about loving the US and being a patriot. But I think the other thing to point out is that the deposition that Dimon gave in this court case that has been broiling for months between JPMorgan and the British Virgin Islands, and also victims of Jeffrey Epstein about the bank's relationship, bank and Jeffrey Epstein has come out yesterday.

And in the deposition, which took place last Friday, it was hours long. In the transcript, basically lawyers were grilling Dimon about whether or not he was aware of the fact that JPMorgan kept him as a client for seven years after he was charged as a child sex offender. And Dimon said, no, effectively.

But to see those two things in place, you have to wonder about the concept. And Dimon, for his part, has never really said anything, at least, in this cycle, about having presidential aspirations. And so I think the best thing we can do at this point is just look at what he has said in the public. And it sounds like he's more broadly interested in public office. So we haven't seen any presidential claims as of yet.

Ackman pointed out that, he thought Dimon could win the primary against Biden and the general election against Trump. And I think Rick Newman had a really good take about this last week, which is-- or, excuse me, yesterday, which is that the American public doesn't typically like bankers. In "Markets Coverage," bankers being like some of the top players that we cover and talk about.

And as far back as 2012, excuse me, Dimon came up in the running for who might succeed the Treasury Secretary under President Obama. And in that scenario, bankers looked more toxic than ever due to the great financial crisis. And he, ultimately, did not take that role, despite Warren Buffett endorsing him.

So I think that I'd take a step back and just point out in the broader context of bankers have not had so much success in recent years as attracting attention from the American public.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: And it does seem like he would potentially have the backing of some big names. But it's interesting that he, at least, is considering the idea of public office. Great break down there for us. Dave Hollerith, thanks so much.