Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Jamie Dimon’s operational and management practices are legendary — as a strategist who can integrate fractured businesses; as a dealmaker who bought two failing banks during the extraordinary circumstances of the past two years; as a relentless risk manager who believes in a “fortress balance sheet” and battens down the hatches to prepare for tough times ahead; and as a charismatic leader who focuses on recruiting, training, and developing the people in his organization.

While competitors imploded during the economic downturn, with Dimon at the helm, JPMorgan Chase emerged as a global leader in financial services with a strong reputation for social and corporate responsibility.

Dimon came to JPMorgan from Bank One, where, as chairman and CEO, he turned a $511 million loss in 2000 into record earnings of $3.5 billion by 2003, when he engineered its sale to JPMorgan. Previously, he had worked at American Express, Salomon Smith Barney, the Travelers Group, and Citigroup, which he helped build into the world’s largest financial services company through tight management and astute mergers.

Both Dimon’s father and grandfather worked as stockbrokers, but he never felt forced to follow in their footsteps. A father of three daughters, one of whom is currently studying at HBS, Dimon says he will be happy if his children contribute to making the planet a better place.