Company: JPMorgan Chase
Title: CFO
Years with company: 19
Relevant experience:
Despite Buffett's caution on Wall Street executives, the CEO position at Wells Fargo may be Lake's for the taking. There are few executives with her depth of financial experience at a major bank and she has been widely mentioned in press reports as a top-notch candidate to succeed Sloan.
She has served as the CFO of JPMorgan Chase since 2012, ushering in a period of stability after the disastrous "London Whale" trading debacle which occurred under her predecessor, Doug Braunstein.
Lake, who is the only female CFO among the bulge bracket, is also a member of the JPMorgan's all-powerful operating committee, reserved for the most senior executives of the firm.
Lake has taken firm reign of the mega-banks financial position, including driving the annual Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review regulatory stress tests overseen by the Fed, as well as helping CEO Jamie Dimon devise strategy and capital allocation for the firm.
Though born in America, Lake answers investor questions in a crisp British accent, reflecting her upbringing in England. She is the only executive other than Dimon to participate in the bank's quarterly-earnings updates. Dimon often defers to her to answer more technical questions.
Lake has made clear to the JPMorgan board, chaired by Dimon, that she has ambitions well beyond the CFO seat, according to a report by Reuters. The question is whether Wells Fargo can lure her, or if she is willing to wait for a shot at running JPMorgan itself after Dimon's departure. That may take five years or more.
Recent news, however, may prompt Lake to consider the Wells Fargo opportunity more seriously. While Dimon did not affirm that a woman or person of color would likely succeed him at the hearing, he later clarified that JPMorgan does not comment on succession plans.
"That's a board-level issue," Dimon said on the bank's first quarter earnings call. "But also I was confused by the question 'likely' without a timetable."
He added: "So, we have exceptional women. And my successor may very well be a woman and it may not. And it really depends on the circumstance…And it might be different if it’s one year from now versus five years from now."