#307
The Dimon Diaspora
Published:
Oct 12, 2019
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In the world of sports, some top coaches spawn family trees - with their disciples becoming prolific themselves. In the NFL, Bill Parcells alone has had 14 assistant coaches become head coaches, winning over 630 games combined.
A similar dynamic has played out in high finance. In the hedge fund space, Tiger Management (founded by Julian Robertson) has had at least 10 alumni create some of the biggest and top performing funds, often referred to as the “Tiger Cubs.”
And in the world of banking, JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon has emerged as the king-maker. With the recent appointment of Charlie Scharff as CEO at Wells Fargo, former JPMorgan executives now lead banks with assets totaling $4.7tn ($7.4tn if you include JPMorgan itself).
Dimon’s disciples now run Barclays, Standard Chartered, and PNC financial (quietly the 8th largest bank in America). They also hold top spots at First Data, Cerberus, and Visa, among others.
Clearly, Mr. Dimon’s ability to identify, train, and manage top talent is noteworthy. But there may be a downside to “family trees” – namely, some resistance to new blood and new ways of thinking. Would the big banks be better served by outside talent, in the face of evolving technology and changing demands from customers?
Regardless, there is clearly a lot of love in the Dimon family!
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