James Dimon, CEO and Chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) survived an attempt to split his roles at the company at the annual shareholder meeting today. The executive, in an internal memo to employees, expressed his respect for the shareholders, and their opinions about the company’s future.
The internal memo was obtained by David Benoit over at the Wall Street Journal MoneyBeat. At today’s meeting, just 32.2 percent of the shares voted to split the Chairman and CEO roles at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), less than the 40 percent that voted in favor of a similar measure at the annual meeting last year.
James Dimon Remains CEO of JPMorgan:
Investors in the investment bank are worried about its compliance and governance principles, and some thought that dividing power at the top would improve both. Though James Dimon remains CEO of the bank, and was yet again voted in as its chairman today, he said in the internal memo that he respects the opinions of the shareholders, and would seek to improve the company in line with their thoughts.
“While our governance principles are already sound, we take their feedback very seriously and plan to continue to incorporate shareholders’ constructive input into how we govern this company,” read the note which was signed in Dimon’s name. The comment may indicate an intention to concentrate more publicly on governance issues in future.
Apart from the message concerning the importance of shareholder’s opinions, Dimon uses the note to boost morale at a company that may have its greatest challenges ahead of it. The JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) CEO commented on his happiness at having met some of the 5000 employees the bank has in Tampa at the meeting today, and thanked employees for the way they have handled the atmosphere in recent weeks.
Overall, the tone of the memo was humble and grateful. Dimon seems to remember that he is the leader of a huge group of people, rather than a dictator backed by their power.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) may be heading for trouble with regulators according to several recent reports. The regulatory pressure has certainly spurred some of the media attention allotted to the vote to split the top roles at the company, and may indicate problems for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) in the not too distant future.
