\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-2152634505-e1723063264781.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
The long-running refrain<\/a> about when JPMorgan Chase<\/a> CEO Jamie Dimon will retire has been \u201cfive years\u201d\u2014unchanged during the nearly two decades he\u2019s run the $570 billion bank. Accordingly, he sent shock waves through the business community earlier this year when he announced at an investor event that the timeline was \u201cnot five years anymore<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview on Wednesday with CNBC, Dimon, who turned 68 in March, confirmed that he will, indeed, retire at some point.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEventually, I have to leave\u2014I know that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got great people out there.\u201d<\/p>\n He also confirmed that the bank\u2019s emergency CEO successor remains Daniel Pinto<\/a>, calling him the \u201chit by a bus\u201d pick. A native of Argentina, Pinto was named copresident and chief operating officer of JPM in January 2018, and became president and COO in January 2022. According to Dimon, the bank\u2019s leaders are \u201cexceptional,\u201d and not just in business. \u201cTheir heart, their curiosity, and the respect\u2014they engender respect from our employees, our customers,\u201d making them a cut above, he said. It will make the board\u2019s succession planning run smoothly.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dimon also hinted that he might stick around as chairman for a year or two before he fully departs from the company, but said JPMorgan\u2019s board members would ultimately make that call. \u201cI have a while to go before I\u2019m out of the company,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Succession planning at large-cap companies is often an important issue for investors, and JPM is no different, particularly given Dimon\u2019s high profile among clients and the public. His timeline took on additional importance following Morgan Stanley\u2019s 2023 announcement that new CEO Ted Pick would take over for James Gorman, who led the bank for 14 years. Dimon also suffered an aortic tear in 2020<\/a> that nearly killed him, bringing into even sharper relief the need for stability in the CEO transition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Analyst Mike Mayo, a favorite of Dimon\u2019s, said on CNBC that Dimon has two years left on his contract and noted that plenty of institutional investors query him about succession planning at the bank. In fact, given Dimon\u2019s recent public comments about the need for more collaboration in crafting public policy, it may be that he could get more closely involved in politics. For his part, Dimon has remained noncommittal; he did not endorse a presidential candidate and would only say that he \u201cloves what he\u2019s doing\u201d when asked whether he might be interested in government service.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, \u201che didn\u2019t say no,\u201d said Mayo. \u201cSo that certainly comes to the fore a little more during an election period like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayo estimated that if Dimon left, JPMorgan Chase stock would drop about 5%, shaving $25 billion off the bank\u2019s market cap, making Dimon \u201cthe $25 billion man.\u201d However, Dimon\u2019s public comments<\/a>, including in a recent Washington Post<\/em> op-ed<\/a> and his CEO letters have also indicated a willingness to personally invest in a public service role.\u00a0<\/p>\n In his April 2024 letter to investors<\/a>, Dimon wrote: \u201cHeart cannot be overstated\u201d when it comes to leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHeart matters,\u201d Dimon wrote. \u201cAnd it makes a difference when people know and see that you actually care.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nRecommended Newsletter: <\/strong>CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about\u2013and from inside\u2013the C-suite. Subscribe Now<\/a>.<\/div>\n