JPMorgan Vice Chair Jimmy Lee Passes Away

Jimmy Lee, Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) has died, the company has confirmed. Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO issued a statement, saying:

“It is with deep sorrow and a heavy heart that I inform you that our beloved friend and colleague, Jimmy Lee, unexpectedly passed away this morning.  Our prayers and thoughts are with his wife Beth, his three children, Lexi, Jamie and Izzy, and his entire family, whom he dearly loved.  Jimmy was a great friend, leader and mentor to me and so many others. As Vice Chairman of our company and former head of our Investment Bank, Jimmy made an indelible and invaluable contribution to our company, our people, our clients and our industry over his nearly 40 years of dedicated and selfless service. Jimmy was a master of his craft, but he was so much more – he was an incomparable force of nature.  To all who had the honor of knowing him, he will be sorely missed. We love you Jimmy.”

The 62-year-old died at the hospital after complaining of chest pains while on the treadmill at home. Lee got his start 39 years ago at Chemical Bank, which through a series of mergers and acquisitions became the modern JPMorgan. He is considered by many to be the “father of the syndicated bank loan,” wherein a group of banks provide financing to a single borrower.

Among the deals he helped facilitate were Comcast-NBC Universal, News Corp’s (NYSE:NWSA) takeover bid for Dow Jones & Company, General Electric’s (NYSE:GE) restructuring as well as the Initial Public Offerings of Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) , Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). He was also instrumental in and advising policymakers on the 2008 bailout.

JPMorgan described Lee to the FOX Business Network as “the architect of the WSJ deal from Alibaba to Facebook he was the biggest name in the deal world for decades.”