I’ve written before about leaders clinging to power – all too often long after their sell-by date has expired.* Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan, is a case in point. He is now 66 years old. He has not always been in the best of health (throat cancer, last year emergency heart surgery). He’s been top dog at JPMorgan since 2006 – some 16 years. And, since 2007, he’s also boasted the title of chairman of the board.
First question: Why then is he still in a position of what in the world of banking is unrivalled power?
Answers: He wants to be. He remains good at what he does. His board has zero incentive directly to take him on. His shareholders are satisfied with his performance or, maybe better, satisfied enough. And there’s no statute of limitations on leaders who insist on continuing to lead.
Second question: What then is the problem? If a long-term leader like Dimon continues to perform well, and if his followers, including shareholders, are fine with it, why stir the pot? Why not leave Dimon alone on his throne?
Answers: Though there are some exceptions to the general rule: leaders deteriorate over time. They get addicted to power; they get sclerotic; they get protected against dissention; they lose touch; they get rigid; they get self-aggrandizing; and far, far too often they get excessively rich. They become in a bubble of their own creation.
There should therefore be a norm: most leaders should be required to surrender their positions of power after a decade in power. They should be required to make way for new blood. This norm should apply across the board. To leaders in the public sector as well as the private one, to leaders in education, in religion, and in the military.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has served as senator from the state of Kentucky since 1985 – some 37 years. Think he’s past due to get up and get out? He clearly does not. He will not quit. He will not pick up his marbles and go home.
Times have changed a lot in the last decade, two decades, three decades. One of these is that people live longer. Dimon at 66 probably perceives himself a spring chicken!
Still, notwithstanding Dimon’s standing, are signs his subjects are getting a bit restless. First, investors generally are increasingly demanding that the chair and CEO roles be split. Second, in the case of JPMorgan specifically, a recent securities filing submitted by the bank said that a “substantial majority” of its investors wanted Dimon to stay as non-executive chair when he steps down as chief executive. The implication is that while Dimon will long into the future continue to chair the board, he will not so long into the future consent to step down as chief executive officer.
In 2018 Jamie Dimon was asked when he would retire. He replied in five years. In 2020 Jamie Dimon was asked when he would retire. He replied in five years. In 2021 Jamie Dimon as asked when he would retire. He replied in five years. By now a joke? Maybe. But not one I find funny.
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