JPMorgan tech exec promotions show modernization plans, data priorities

Dive Brief:

JPMorgan Chase created an employee experience and corporate technology department and restructured its finance, risk, data and controls unit as it pivots technology operations to focus on modernization and data. The bank selected James Reid as CIO of its new employee experience and corporate technology unit, and Melissa Goldman as CIO of its finance, risk, data and controls unit, according to an internal memo obtained by CIO Dive.
Both CIOs come from internal roles within the company. Reid had served as head of engineering and architecture since 2019. Goldman, formerly CIO of corporate technology at the company, will add the new CIO title to her role as chief data officer.
The launch of JPMorgan's employee experience and corporate technology unit signals a shift focused on improving the technology used by its workforce. Reid will report to Lori Beer, the bank's global CIO, to improve IT systems across corporate functions, according to the memo.

Dive Insight:

Reid's promotion to CIO coincides with JPMorgan's plans to reopen its U.S. offices to all employees May 17, while adhering to a 50% occupancy cap. The company expects all U.S.-based employees to resume a consistent rotational schedule by early July. About 30% of the bank's employees will work under a hybrid model when the pandemic subsides, CEO Jamie Dimon has said.

Nearly two-thirds of business leaders say their workforce could work remotely at least some of the time, according to Gartner data. Hybrid work is possible for about 50% to 60% of the workforce.

For businesses, filling the gaps in the technology stack to maintain hybrid work will be the next step in sustaining a changing workplace environment.

Reid will be tasked with building a unified digital interface across employee-facing technologies, according to the memo. The technological advancements are meant to help employees "effectively and efficiently perform their jobs." Other projects will include partnering with leaders across the business to unify the design of physical and virtual locations and implementing IT solutions across HR, legal and other business units.

Beer joined JPMorgan in 2017, inheriting a recently overhauled Agile software development system and an initial move to the public cloud. Now, the company is increasing its technology investment by nearly $1 billion.

JPMorgan this year is planning technological efforts to advance digital consumer experiences, data analytics, cybersecurity and AI, according to the company's Q4 2020 earnings report.

The company built data centers around the world with "all the cloud, technology, etc., for our own private cloud," Dimon said on the Q4 2020 earnings call. Streamlining data management will pave the way for further AI and machine-learning investments.