JPMorgan Names New AWM Operations Head as Julie Harris Sets 2027 Retirement

A Planned Transition at Scale

Julie Harris, who oversees operations for JPMorgan Chase's asset and wealth management division, plans to retire in early 2027, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The bank has appointed Fred Crosnier to take over leadership of AWM operations from 1 January. He will report to AWM CEO Mary Callahan Erdoes.

Harris joined JPMorgan in 2017 and also holds the position of chief administrative officer within the division. During her time in the role, the bank's asset and wealth management business expanded to more than $8tn in client assets under supervision, from about $2tn.

The handover covers an operations remit attached to a business that grew from roughly $2tn to more than $8tn in client assets under supervision during Harris's tenure.

Leadership on the Record

Erdoes described Harris in the memo as one of the most influential leaders in AWM's transformation over the last decade. Since joining the firm in 2017, Erdoes said, Harris challenged the business to rethink legacy ways of working and championed smarter and more scalable solutions.

Crosnier is not an external arrival. He started his career with JPMorgan in France and rejoined the bank in 2019 after senior roles elsewhere in financial services. His most recent post was deputy head of AWM operations.

JPMorgan said it would name a replacement for Crosnier in the asset management operations position later. That leaves one seat in the operations hierarchy still to be filled.

A Wider Contest for Adviser Talent

The transition lands as rival wealth businesses compete for adviser capacity. Separately, Wells Fargo is stepping up its hiring of financial advisers after a five-year overhaul of its wealth management unit, Bloomberg reported.

The current push is focused on independent advisers, who are not salaried by the bank but use its platform. Wells Fargo Advisors head Sol Gindi said in a statement to Private Banker International that Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management continues to attract high-quality advisor talent across markets throughout the United States, and that its multichannel model gives advisors flexibility to choose the business structure that best aligns with how they wish to run their practice and support clients' needs.

Gindi added that for those serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, the firm's integrated Private Wealth offering provides specialised planning, investment, trust, and banking solutions designed to serve even the most complex clients.

What the Moves Signal

For clients with substantial holdings, the operations leadership of a wealth division matters less visibly than portfolio performance but shapes how consistently complex mandates are administered. JPMorgan's memo frames the coming change as continuity rather than disruption: a deputy steps up, a reporting line to the division's CEO is preserved, and a replacement for the vacated operations post is promised later.

The two developments, taken together, describe a wealth sector where scale and adviser recruitment are being pursued simultaneously. JPMorgan's disclosed growth in client assets under supervision and Wells Fargo's focus on independent advisers both point to competition for the platforms and people that serve wealthy clients.