Jamie Dimon has banking in his blood – his father and grandfather both worked for the now defunct investment bank Shearson – and has built for himself a formidable career in finance.
After a summer stint at Goldman Sachs while studying for an MBA at Harvard, upon graduation in 1982 Dimon went on to work at a number of big names in financial services, such as American Express and Citigroup.
However, his big break came in 2000 when he was appointed CEO of Bank One, which was the US’ fifth-largest bank at the time. During his time there, Bank One was acquired by JPMorgan, leading to Dimon securing the joint role of president and CEO of the combined company. He was appointed on December 31 as the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and exactly one year later, he also assumed the role of Chairman of the Board. It was quite a rise, and indicative of Dimon’s versatility.
Under Dimon’s tenure, JPMorgan has become the largest domestic lender in the US, as well as the leading US domestic bank in terms of assets management, market capitalisation value, and the value of its publically traded stock.
As of 2009, Dimon has served as a Class A Board Member of the New York Federal Reserve, as well as Chairman of the Executive Committee of The Business Council for 2011 and 2012. In 2012, Dimon secured JPMorgan fiscal profits of $21.3bn. In the same year, he received praise from some pretty high places: US President Barack Obama, for example, described him as “one of the smartest bankers we’ve got”. Given the landscape of scepticism around banking and the state of the economy at the time, that was a big statement to make.
After being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Dimon returned to work after a bout of chemotherapy. Driven as ever, he has plans to take the company even further. JPMorgan is continuing to expand and the numbers are getting ever bigger; Dimon seems the right fit to take the company forward.