The news
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will name Mark O'Donovan, CEO of its international consumer banking business, as its next head of human resources in January, succeeding Robin Leopold, who is retiring, according to a memo from CEO Jamie Dimon that Banking Dive reported on September 30, 2026. The move puts a business-line leader in charge of HR at the largest US bank.
O'Donovan will also join JPMorgan's operating committee, the bank's top management group, and relocate to New York City from London, Banking Dive reported.
Daniel Llano Manibardo will succeed O'Donovan as CEO of international consumer banking. He led the launch of the Chase consumer bank in Germany in May 2026 and built its Berlin-based team, according to the report.
O'Donovan is a 30-year JPMorgan veteran who became CEO of international consumer banking in 2025, Banking Dive reported. As chief financial officer of the commercial and investment bank, he played a central role in integrating First Republic after JPMorgan acquired the failed lender in 2023. He has also served as the bank's global controller and as CEO of Chase Auto and head of its home lending business, according to the memo.
Leopold joined JPMorgan Chase in 2010 and became head of HR in 2018, capping a banking career of about four decades, Banking Dive reported. In the memo, Dimon credited her with helping transform how the company is managed, according to the report.
The numbers
- O'Donovan's years at JPMorgan
- 30
- Leopold's tenure as HR head
- Since 2018
- Effective date
- January 2027
Why CEOs should care
For CEOs and boards, the appointment shows how JPMorgan treats the top HR job: as an operating role filled by someone who has run businesses, managed budgets and led a major integration. Boards reviewing their own succession plans should ask whether the head of people sits on the executive committee and whether candidates for the role have direct experience running a profit-and-loss business.
O'Donovan's background in finance and in folding First Republic into JPMorgan suggests experience with large-scale workforce changes. Companies planning restructurings, acquisitions or changes in roles driven by new technology should weigh whether their HR leaders have handled similar transitions, and whether finance and HR plans are linked.
For executives watching JPMorgan's international push, the promotion of Llano Manibardo keeps the Chase Germany launch leader in charge of the overseas consumer business. Competitors in European digital banking should expect continuity rather than a change in direction.
The bigger picture
Large banks are reshaping their workforces as automation and new software change how work gets done. Putting a seasoned operator over HR at the biggest US bank fits a broader pattern of companies treating talent strategy as core business strategy, rather than a support function.
What’s next
The changes take effect in January 2027. Watch for any further reshuffle of JPMorgan's operating committee, how O'Donovan frames workforce priorities once in the job, and how quickly Chase expands its consumer bank beyond the UK and Germany under Llano Manibardo.
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