JPMorgan CEO of Chase consumer banking leaving

NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase & Co's Chief Executive Officer of the Chase Consumer Banking division Thasunda Brown Duckett is leaving America's largest bank to become the head of the retirement provider and financial services firm TIAA, according to announcements by both companies on Thursday.

A rising star at JPMorgan, Duckett oversaw an ambitious expansion of Chase's branch network that opened valuable doors for other banking divisions. By the end of the year, Chase will have more than 4,900 branches, including one in each of the lower 48 states. Prior to leading Chase consumer banking, Duckett was the CEO of auto lending and led the home lending division's call center group, called consumer direct.

Last September she became the first Black woman to be appointed to the bank's powerful operating committee. Duckett will be taking over the president and CEO job at TIAA from Roger Ferguson, who is one of just a handful of Black CEOs to lead a company on Fortune's 500 List of America's largest companies.

Ferguson's retirement follows that of another highprofile Black CEO, Merck & Co Inc's Ken Frazier, who retired earlier this month. TIAA said that Duckett will start on May 1, and Ferguson will remain on until she joins.

"Thasunda is widely recognized as an exceptionally dynamic and inspirational leader," Ronald L. Thompson, chairman of TIAA's Board of Trustees, said in a statement. JPMorgan did not immediately name Duckett's replacement, according to a memo from bank Co-President Gordon Smith sent to staff on Thursday.