Jan 13, 2023
By: Vaamanaa SethiIndian-origin Anu Aiyengar has been appointed as the head of JP Morgan Chase’s global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) franchise. She becomes the only female to lead that franchise at a major Wall Street bank.
Credit: Bloomberg
52-year-old Aiyengar will be sole head since Dirk Albersmeier, who was the co-head of M&A, is stepping aside to focus on client work, according to media reports.
Credit: JP-Morgan
"Going forward, Anu will be the sole head of our global M&A business and Dirk will focus exclusively on providing our clients with first-class M&A advice and continuing to mentor the next generation of M&A leaders," said the company in an internal memo.
Credit: JP-Morgan
Aiyengar has been working at JP Morgan for over 20 years. She joined in 1999 as managing director and served in the position till 2015.
Credit: JP-Morgan
In 2020, she became the co-head of global M&A at the company – becoming the only woman and person of colour to hold the position..
Credit: BCCL
According to media reports, Aiyengar has advised on big deals including Burger King's acquisition of Tim Horton.
Credit: BCCL
Before joining JP Morgan, she worked as a manager at American Express for four years. She is on the boards of Youth INC, a venture philanthropy organisation, and Dress for Success Worldwide, a not-for-profit organisation. She is also a board trustee at Smith College.
Credit: BCCL
She graduated with a BA in Economics from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts and later on pursued an MBA in Finance from Vanderbilt University, Tennessee.
Credit: Bloomberg
She was on Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in US Finance list for two years in a row – 2021 and 2022. She was also part of Forbes 50 over 50 -Money (2022) list.
Credit: Forbes