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Matt Zames was destined to move up the JP Morgan chain of command one way or another--replacing one of the most respected and well paid executives and making sure there won't be any more $2 billion blunders probably fits into the latter. Bloomberg is reporting today that Ina Drew, the executive who called the shots which ultimately landed America's most powerful and richest banks with a $2 billion loss will retire today and Zames, a star in Morgan's investment unit, has been named JP Morgan's new Chief Investment Officer. We had reported previously that Drew's resignation was expected after being announced on Thursday, but the AP believes that the cuts won't stop with Drew, "one of the highest-ranking women in Wall Street". They are reporting that "at least two other executives at the bank will be held accountable for the mistake."
As for Zames, the big question is if he can help JPMorgan out of its current mess. Back in 2010, CNN reported he was one JP Morgan CEO's Jamie Dimon's chosen few--the handful of people Dimon has in mind as his succession candidate--and Zames's name has long been thrown around as a potential (and favored) candidate to take over for Dimon when that day comes. But before he was the star he now is, he was the head of Long Term Capital Management INC, which Business Insider's Julia LaRoche reports was "a hedge fund that failed in the late 1990s." It should also be noted that Zames was also one of the Morgan executives named in court papers as having called out Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme in 2011, even though no action was taken to protect investors. Here's hoping they listen to him now.
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