JPMorgan’s top European executive is packing his bags for New York. Again.
Filippo Gori, who runs the bank’s Europe, Middle East and Africa operations, is planning to relocate from London to New York while keeping his regional leadership role. The move comes just over a year after the Italian banker moved to the UK from Hong Kong following his promotion to dual responsibilities.
Gori also serves as co-head of JPMorgan’s global banking division. Sources familiar with the situation tell the Financial Times that he’s already in the process of making the Atlantic crossing.
The timing raises eyebrows. But one person close to the situation insists Gori will spend “at least half of his time” in the Emea region for the remainder of 2024. He’ll “continue to be highly visible among employees and clients in the region,” they added.
UK regulators apparently saw this coming. They’ve known since Gori’s appointment as Emea CEO in 2024 that he might eventually head stateside.
This isn’t exactly breaking new ground in banking circles. Senior executives managing UK operations from across the pond has become increasingly common. HSBC’s chairman Sir Mark Tucker calls New York home despite overseeing a London-headquartered bank. Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan splits time between New York and London. He’s a JPMorgan alum too.
The move comes as JPMorgan continues reshuffling its executive ranks. The Wall Street giant has been reorganizing its investment banking operations while several top executives position themselves to potentially succeed Jamie Dimon. The longtime CEO has run the bank since 2006 and turned 69 in March.
Gori spent over a decade in Hong Kong before his 2023 promotion to co-head global banking. That put him on the leadership map alongside Doug Petno, who got the same role at the same time.
But Petno has since leapfrogged ahead. He was promoted again in January to co-lead the entire commercial and investment bank. That move likely bumped him higher on the CEO succession list.
Gori now runs global banking with John Simmons. Other names frequently mentioned as Dimon successors include Marianne Lake, who heads the consumer banking division, and Troy Rohrbaugh, the other co-head of commercial and investment banking.
One source downplayed the significance of Gori’s relocation. “As co-head of global banking, he would be on the road a lot anyway, including in the US, regardless of where he lives,” they said. The constant travel comes with the territory for senior banking executives managing global operations.
Still, the optics matter. London has worked hard to maintain its status as a global financial center post-Brexit. Having senior executives of major banks manage UK operations from New York doesn’t exactly project confidence in the local market.
JPMorgan and Gori both declined to comment on the planned move.
The relocation highlights how fluid executive roles have become at major banks. Geographic boundaries matter less when you’re managing global operations. But it also reflects the reality that New York remains the gravitational center of global banking.
For Gori, the move brings him closer to JPMorgan’s power center. Whether that helps his long-term career prospects remains to be seen. The succession race at JPMorgan appears wide open, with several strong contenders vying for the top job.
