JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Is Recovering After Emergency Heart Surgery -- 4th Update
March 05 2020 - 10:07PM
Dow Jones News
By David Benoit and Betsy McKay
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive James Dimon was
recovering in a hospital following emergency heart surgery
Thursday.
The procedure to repair an acute aortic dissection was
successful, and Mr. Dimon was alert and "recovering well," the bank
said in a memo to employees.
Mr. Dimon, 63, checked himself into a Manhattan hospital early
Thursday after experiencing chest pains while getting ready for
work, according to a person familiar with the matter. The medical
staff made a quick diagnosis, the person said, and Mr. Dimon spent
the morning sending emails before the several-hour surgery.
An aortic dissection is the abnormal separation of tissues in
the wall of the aorta, the large blood vessel that carries blood
from the heart to the rest of the body. It is a rare but very
serious condition that occurs most commonly in men in their 60s and
70s, according to the Mayo Clinic. The inner layer of the aorta
suddenly tears. Blood then flows through the opening, causing the
inner and middle layers of the aorta to separate.
Its symptoms are similar to those of a heart attack, making it
sometimes hard to diagnose. The condition is often fatal but can be
treated if caught early. Actor John Ritter died of an aortic
dissection in 2003, when he was in his 50s.
"The good news is that it was caught early," the memo said of
Mr. Dimon's illness.
This is the second big health scare for Mr. Dimon in recent
years. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and made a full
recovery.
JPMorgan Co-Presidents Daniel Pinto and Gordon Smith are leading
the bank while Mr. Dimon recuperates, they said in the memo. Mr.
Pinto runs JPMorgan's investment bank, and Mr. Smith heads its
sprawling consumer bank. Their elevation was set out in the bank's
emergency succession plan -- widely known within the bank as the
"Jamie getting hit by a bus" plan, according to a person familiar
with the matter.
Mr. Dimon's sudden illness is likely to revive speculation about
when he will step down from the bank he has led since 2004. The
longest-serving CEO of a U.S. megabank, Mr. Dimon shepherded
JPMorgan through the financial crisis. Today, it is the largest
U.S. bank by assets and Mr. Dimon -- who earned $31.5 million in
2019 -- is paid more than any of his big-bank peers.
Mr. Dimon has said he is in no hurry to leave. When asked about
his plans earlier this year, he said he expected to retire in five
years. It is the same answer he has given for at least six
years.
"My statement stays the same -- it's five years," he said on an
earnings call with reporters in January. "When and if we ever set
an actual retirement date, we'll let you know."
If that timeline holds, the top contenders to succeed him are
Marianne Lake, who runs JPMorgan's consumer-lending business, and
Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Piepszak. JPMorgan elevated the
women last year in a reshuffling that signaled their position atop
the list of possible successors.
Messrs. Pinto and Smith have long been considered among the top
candidates to succeed Mr. Dimon if he were to step down sooner than
planned. Closer in age to Mr. Dimon, the two men are seen as less
likely to get the top job if Mr. Dimon retires on schedule.
As co-presidents and co-chief operating officers, Messrs. Pinto
and Smith are heavily involved in managing the bank's day-to-day
operations.
"We have been working hand-in-hand with Jamie and the Board over
the past two years to help lead our company," they said in the memo
to employees. "We have also been deeply involved in all of the
critical firmwide functions."
Mr. Dimon's illness comes at a difficult time for JPMorgan,
which, like other big banks, is grappling with the spread of the
coronavirus epidemic. Bank stocks have fallen sharply on fears that
the outbreak will weigh on the U.S. economy, and they are
scrambling to figure out when and where to move staff to make sure
they can keep trading and moving money around for clients.
Mr. Dimon's top lieutenants have banned global travel and put in
place plans to spread out some employees to different offices and
have others work from home, people familiar with the matter
said.
Write to David Benoit at david.benoit@wsj.com and Betsy McKay at
betsy.mckay@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 05, 2020 21:52 ET (02:52 GMT)
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