In the new book The House of Dimon, business writer Patricia Crisafulli goes behind the scenes to divulge the secrets to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimons success: his uncanny ability to identify and control risks and to make not one, but two, strategic acquisitions within six months in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Depression.
In March 2008, the financial markets were rocked by a stunning announcement: JPMorgan Chase was buying Bear Stearns for USD2 a share (later raised to USD10 a share)rescuing the investment bank from the brink of bankruptcy in an 11th-hour deal that was hailed as the deal of the century. And CEO Jamie Dimons profile was catapulted to stratospheric levels as the new king of Wall Street. Now, a year later, Dimon is still reigning as Wall Streets top statesman.
The book explores the Bear Stearns acquisition, which Dimon says he would have never pursued had the government not asked JPMorgan to step in; the early years when Dimon worked alongside Sandy Weill building Commercial Credit into financial services colossus Citigroup; Dimons unexpected firing at Citigroup by then CEO and Chairman and one-time mentor Weill; the Bank One Turnaround, where Dimon turned the firm from a loss of USD511 million to a record gain of USD3.5 billion over three years; the sale of Bank One to JPMorgan Chase; and Dimons succession as CEO at JPMorgan, where he steered the company away from subprime loans, ultimately limiting exposure to toxic assets that have wrought havoc on other financial institutions.
Crisafulli conducted interviews with more than 25 individuals, including Dimon, Weill, retired Travelers Chairman and JPMorgan board member Bob Lipp, and Steve Burke, Comcast President and JPMorgan board member, to discover Dimons opinions on everything from risk management and surviving the current crisis to the leadership thats needed to avoid a repeat of catastrophe in the future.
Patricia Crisafulli (Chicago, IL) is a writer and author who has written and ghost-written more than 15 books on business, finance, and leadership. A former business journalist, Crisafulli was a correspondent and deputy equities editor in the Chicago bureau of Reuters America.
L.D.