JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon elevated executives at the banking giant who are seen as loyal to him — at the expense of his No. 2, who has seen his influence at the company wane, according to a report.
Speculation among insiders at JPMorgan is rife that Daniel Pinto, the president of the bank, could be on his way out after an organizational restructure saw his loyalists passed over for key roles, the Financial Times reported.
Pinto, 61, was stripped of his title as head of JPMorgan’s investment banking and trading division — paving the way for Dimon to promote top executives who are seen as candidates to eventually succeed him when he steps down.
Dimon allies Jennifer Piepszak and Troy Rohrbaugh were promoted earlier this year to the position of co-CEOs of the commercial and investment banking division while Doug Petno, who is known to have clashed with Pinto in the past, was tapped to be co-head of global banking.
The promotions were done against the wishes of Pinto, who wanted to install his own lieutenants — including Marc Badrichani, Takis Georgakopoulos and Viswas Raghavan — to more senior positions, according to FT.
Pinto, who filled in for an ailing Dimon briefly in 2020, reportedly wanted Badrichani and Georgakopoulos to hold top positions in the investment banking and trading division alongside Piepszak, who is considered a leading contender to one day replace Dimon, according to FT.
But Dimon ultimately went with Rohrbaugh, picking her to lead the unit with Piepszak.
Pinto is also reported to have lobbied for Raghavan to be a co-head of a newly created investment banking and commercial banking group, but Dimon declined — instead picking Petno and Filippo Gori to run the unit, FT reported.
Badrichani, Georgakopoulos and Raghavan later left JPMorgan. The exit by Georgakopoulos, who is reportedly considered “Daniel’s guy,” was particularly irksome.
“Him leaving is like sending a message,” a former JPMorgan executive told FT.
The reshuffle is seen as a sign that Pinto’s influence within the bank is limited.
“A lot of his power base has been dismantled,” a JPMorgan executive told FT when commenting on Pinto.
JPMorgan declined to comment.
The Wall Street lender’s succession plans for the post-Dimon era has been the subject of intense speculation on Wall Street for years.
Dimon, 68, said in May he plans on retiring in less than five years — though the bank has indicated he will hold on to the chairmanship of the company.
Dimon has publicly praised Pinto, saying he was “blessed” to have him at his side “with his extraordinary brain.”
Pinto is credited with running much of JPMorgan’s day-to-day operations.
The Argentine-born Pinto has strong financial incentive to remain at the bank until December 2026, when a retention bonus worth around $25 million would kick in, according to FT.
But the recent organizational moves and internal politicking has fueled speculation that Pinto’s exit could be expedited.