JPMorgan confirmed that Hernan Cristerna will retire from banking after 30 years at the firm. He will step down as executive chair of global investment banking and M&A at the end of 2026. Co-heads of global banking Filippo Gori and John Simmons announced the departure in an employee memo, which a company spokesperson confirmed to Reuters.
Cristerna took the global chair role in 2020 after co-leading JPMorgan’s global M&A business from 2013. He also sits on the bank’s investment-banking executive committee. The announcement establishes the departure date but does not identify a successor.
DEPARTURE CAPS THREE DECADES
The employee memo credited Cristerna with a lasting impact across JPMorgan, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, through his leadership and development of colleagues. His remit nevertheless extended across the bank’s global advisory franchise.
His major assignments included InBev’s acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, Saudi Aramco’s acquisition of SABIC in 2019 and the 2023 merger of Bunge and Viterra. Those mandates spanned consumer goods, energy and agricultural commodities.
SUCCESSION DETAILS STILL TO COME
The year-end timetable gives JPMorgan the remainder of 2026 to organise coverage of Cristerna’s client and management responsibilities. Any redistribution of his global M&A remit will be relevant to the bank’s senior advisory structure.
JPMorgan has confirmed the retirement but has not publicly detailed the succession arrangements cited in the reports. The next concrete milestone will be a formal announcement identifying who will assume Cristerna’s responsibilities after his departure.