At the IMF meeting in Prague last year, the car carrying JP Morgan chairman Sandy Warner and the bank's president and CEO, Bill Harrison, got caught in the crossfire of anti-globalization protesters. The driver managed to get out of trouble and both men escaped unscathed. But JP Morgan employees joked that, had Warner and Harrison really been in a tight spot, security would have been briefed about who to cover first. Just 10 months after Chase's merger with JPMorgan it was clear that Harrison was firmly in the driving seat.
| Sandy Warner | ||||||
So news that Warner is standing down at the end of the year has not surprised Wall Street. Since Warner sold his investment bank to Chase in 2000, he has largely been a passenger with no operational responsibilities. It was only a matter of time before he made way for Harrison, his senior by three years.