JPM JP Morgan Chase and Co

By David Benoit 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. shuffled the roles of two of the top executives in line to one day succeed Chief Executive James Dimon.

Marianne Lake, who has served as chief financial officer since 2012, will leave the role to run all of the bank's consumer-lending businesses, including its growing credit-card operations as well as auto lending and mortgages. Jennifer Piepszak, who was running JPMorgan's credit-card business, will take over as finance chief.

Ms. Piepszak will join the company's operating committee of top executives, a group that already includes Ms. Lake.

Ms. Lake has long been viewed as a top contender to succeed Mr. Dimon, but analysts and others monitoring the succession race believed she needed experience running one of the bank's major businesses. A rising star within the bank, Ms. Piepszak's move to the CFO role makes her one of its most prominent representatives and gives her broad influence over its far-flung businesses.

Mr. Dimon, 63 years old, is in no hurry to retire. Asked at the bank's February investor day when he planned to step down, he said: "Five years. Maybe four now."

The ascension of either Ms. Lake or Ms. Piepszak to the top job at the nation's largest bank would be a major development for women, who occupy precious few senior roles in the banking business and on Wall Street.

The suggested timeframe has led some to assume the bank's co-chief operating officers -- Gordon Smith, who runs the bank's consumer and community operations, and investment-banking head Daniel Pinto -- would be too close to retirement themselves when Mr. Dimon departs. Both are candidates if Mr. Dimon were to depart sooner than expected and were given the co-COO and president titles a year ago in an earlier shakeup.

Both 49, Ms. Lake and Ms. Piepszak are seen as having the right combination of youth and experience to potentially succeed Mr. Dimon if he sticks around for another five years.

During his tenure, Mr. Dimon has several times shuffled his lieutenants to make sure candidates have a wide range of experience and exposure to the bank. But a number of executives couldn't wait him out, choosing instead to trade the possibility of the top job at JPMorgan for CEO roles at other financial institutions.

Ms. Lake, who joined JPMorgan in 1999, will report to Mr. Smith but have a broad remit in consumer lending in a new role the bank created for her. She will run the bank's credit-card businesses, and the heads of mortgage and auto lending will report to her, according to a memo the bank sent to employees.

In her 25 years at the bank, Ms. Piepszak has run its business-banking unit and was CFO of its mortgage business.

Last week in a hearing of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Mr. Dimon and six other bank CEOs, all men, were asked if it was likely a female would succeed them one day. No one signaled yes. Mr. Dimon later told analysts he didn't intend to offer any succession clues with his answer.

"We have exceptional women, and my successor may very well be a woman, but it may not," he said.

Write to David Benoit at david.benoit@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 17, 2019 18:18 ET (22:18 GMT)

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