JPMorgan’s CEO Doesn’t Plan on Changing DEI — ‘I’m a Full-throated, Red-blooded, Patriotic, Unwoke, Capitalist CEO’

He said, “I’m a full-throated, red-blooded, patriotic, unwoke, capitalist CEO.” This statement elicited laughter from the audience and set the tone for his insights on the bank’s performance and its stance on diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Approaching a market value of $500 billion, the bank stands as a testament to Dimon’s unorthodox yet effective leadership style. Despite external pressures, Dimon maintains a firm stance against what he terms as “ridiculous ESG, DEI groups coming at us.”

This commitment to legal compliance comes alongside the bank’s continued efforts to reach marginalized communities. JPMorgan plans to modify its processes around racial and gender quotas to remain within legal boundaries.

He said, “The thing about these programs is that some work and some don’t. Some companies just give it lip service.”

“Your heart can be in the right place, but if you don’t really think about the execution stuff, you’re gonna fail,” he said.

He instructed them, “Don’t lump it together. Come back and show me the numbers by VPs, EDs [executive directors], MDs [managing directors], and hiring and retention.”

While some groups showed excellent progress, the representation of Black employees was only average. Dimon expressed dissatisfaction with this, stating, “That’s not JPMorgan. We don’t want to be average.”

The departure of two high-potential Black employees highlighted the need for this focus. One employee left after being passed over for promotion three times, and another was overlooked for a key promotion but later rehired, Fortune reports.

He found that the term “platform” was often used as a criterion for promotion, particularly for Black employees. “I’d never heard the word ‘platform’ used except when we were promoting a Black person,” he said, leading to a broader review of promotion practices.

Dimon is quoted as saying, “That’s not what I’m doing. [Rather,] are we honest? Do we talk about it? And if they don’t have a platform, we’ve gotta tell them.”

Previously recruiting from a limited number of HBCUs, he expressed surprise upon learning there are 107 such institutions. He said, “You learn, and you reach out,” reflecting his newfound understanding and JPMorgan’s subsequent action to recruit from around 26 HBCUs.

“We’re hiring great kids from these places who wanna work, give a damn, want a job, wanna work hard, and wanna get ahead. God bless ’em — and they’re gonna get a chance at JPMorgan regardless of color,” he said, emphasizing the bank’s inclusive approach to talent acquisition and career development.