The collapse of First Republic in the spring of 2023 may have been the second-largest bank bust in U.S. history, but it also provided an opportunity for JPMorgan Chase, which acquired the majority of the failed bank's assets in a $10.6 billion deal.
Marianne Lake, co-CEO of consumer and community banking at JPMorgan Chase, led the incorporation of First Republic's assets along with Jennifer Piepszak, who shares the title. One of the key challenges was working to retain First Republic advisors. While some First Republic wealth advisors did indeed move on after the deal was done on May 1, Lake reported later that month that such outflows had slowed and that she and her colleagues were working to provide clarity to the advisors on their new roles within the bank.
About the broad regional bank crisis that led the headlines in the spring, Lake noted, "The banks that failed had idiosyncratic issues that went unaddressed by their management, but the fact that these events were resolved in the private market shows that the system is functioning as intended."
She added, "We shouldn't act like every failure is a failure of the whole system, but there are always things to learn."
It's fair to say that Lake has learned a lot during her two decades with JPMorgan Chase, where she previously held roles including global controller for the investment bank, CFO of consumer and community banking, CFO for the firm and CEO of consumer lending. She and Piepszak – both of whom have been mentioned on the list of potential successors to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, to whom they directly report – took on their current roles in 2021.
In these roles, Lake and Piepszak lead all of consumer and community banking, which serves nearly 80 million consumers and 6 million small businesses across the U.S. On a daily basis, Lake guides payments, lending and commerce, which includes three lending businesses: card services, home lending and auto finance. Piepszak leads consumer banking, business banking and U.S. wealth management. Lake and Piepszak together lead approximately 130,000 employees.
In managing such a large team, Lake said that the key to measuring their productivity and success is having the right metrics in place and understanding performance at a granular level. That said, she added, "success as a leader is as much about EQ as it is about IQ, and the scorecard that we use balances culture, people, controls and business results. When Jenn and I think about our direct reports, we look at their impact on culture, their focus on people, as well as the customer experience and satisfaction indicators for their business area."
Prior to her move to the U.S. in 2004, Lake worked separately at both institutions in London. At Chase, she held the role of senior financial officer in the United Kingdom, and at JPMorgan, she was the CFO for the credit trading business. She began her career working at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a chartered accountant in their London and Sydney offices.
Two years into her latest role at the bank, Lake sees the pace of change and advancements in technology as one of the biggest challenges facing the industry today.
"This is exciting and brings enormous opportunity. It's good for consumers and the industry, but it needs to happen in a responsible and controlled way," she said. "Across the banking sector, the challenge will be applying the right guardrails and oversight without stifling innovation."
She also noted that, while things have changed for the better in the industry, as far as women being represented in high-ranking positions, there is still a long way to go.
"Men are an important part of the solution, and they need to be engaged and included in these conversations, especially given they still hold the majority of leadership positions across our industry," Lake said.
At JPMorgan Chase, Lake co-founded the Women on the Move initiative, which aims to support women-run businesses, provide education to increase women's financial health and help women advance in their careers. Lake is also the operating committee sponsor of the Access Ability resource group at JPMorgan, which supports employees who have disabilities or illnesses, or are dealing with caretaking responsibilities.
In 2022, Lake was also appointed to the Federal Reserve's board of governors' federal advisory council by the New York Fed, representing the second district.
As intense as her day-to-day responsibilities at the bank are, Lake says she understands the importance of work-life balance and time management.
"I have always tried to think about it in a cumulative way – my ability to do all the things that matter to me over time," she said. "I know there's no way I'm going to get it right every single day, but overall, over the course of a month or a year, I feel satisfied that I spend my time on the right things."
Outside of work, if she had a free 24 hours to spend on activities that give her the most satisfaction, she said, she would wake up fully rested, have a cup of coffee and linger over newspapers and books. "Then I would spend time with my kids and do something that makes them happy," she added. "I'd do a Pilates class and catch up with good friends to laugh, cook and enjoy a lovely meal in good company. To end the day, I'd watch a movie and then go to bed feeling tired but happy."
However, Lake acknowledged, "it's unlikely that all of this would ever happen in one 24-hour period!"
