James Dimon
At 59 and a survivor of cancer, James Dimon, the CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, said that he has no plans to retire anytime soon at the financial services conference. If people continue to throw this question at him, he will have the same answer, “in five years.” The company appointed him as the CEO in 2005 so people will naturally wonder when he will leave the post of CEO and retire.
According to Dimon himself, “I don’t want to retire. “[…] as long as the board wants me to [work], I can work hard.” If anyone who is in line to be the next CEO will have to wait his or her turn, as James Dimon’s stance on the subject is clear.
The CEO was so anxious to get back to work after being diagnosed with cancer that as soon as the doctor reported that no traces of cancer were found, he went back to the office, which was last year in December. Where did the question about his retirement come from then?
Earlier in the year, Dimon talked to an analyst and revealed that he would not take part in every quarterly earnings call. At the conference he clarified his remark and said that just because he wouldn’t be an active participant in quarterly earnings call that does not indicate he will pack his bag and go. Perhaps, he will attend two are three quarterly earnings call, but not more than that.
He has already chosen the person that will stand in on his behalf in the quarterly earnings call. He has named Marianne Lake, the Chief Financial Officer, to assume the role in his absence. Dimon credits Lake for her contributions to the company, saying she is an excellent asset to the company and is doing a phenomenal job. He assured them if anything strategic comes up, he will be there, but he will try his best to avoid the quarterly earnings call.
In fact, he went on to say that anyone in the management team would an amazing job in the event he was run over by a truck, he joked. Everyone is on board and feels comfortable with someone from the management team stepping into his shoes in the event he steps down due to health or some other issues.
The reason Dimon disclosed to the media and the public at the financial services conferences is because J.P. Morgan Chase & Co faced criticism for not thinking of a successor, especially when Dimons diagnosis was revealed last summer.
He said that their bank does not have to worry about being affected by the declining oil prices, as “credit is still [their] biggest exposure and [they] have the most liquid balance sheets.”He also said that the bank’s revenue for the third quarter would be the same as other banks.
In short, James Dimon is not retiring, like other banks their revenue will not fall about 5%, the quarterly earnings call are taken care of, and they have plenty of successors to choose from.
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