Frank Bisignano, former JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Chase Co-Chief Operating Officer and First Data Corporation CEO spoke with FOX Business Network’s (FBN) Melissa Francis about his departure from JPMorgan. When asked about the departures of nine executives from JPMorgan and whether he thinks things have changed in terms of loyalty being CEO Jamie Dimon’s strength, Frank Bisignano said, “I don’t think so. Jamie Dimon is a fabulous leader, a mentor, he’s a friend, he’s been great to me, he was great to me when he hired me and he was great to me helping in how I made this decision in the end so your talk about loyalty and love really still does exist 100 percent.” Frank Bisignano went on to discuss the best lesson Dimon taught him, saying, “He really taught me how to think about things in multiple dimensions,” and said, “That’s a well-managed company with a lot of talent and it’s really going to be in great shape.”
Frank Bisignano interview excerpts below:
Frank Bisignano on whether his departure is a blow to JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) because of all his contributions to the bank:
“The things you talk about were all team efforts, it was a full firm effort. I always felt fortunate to be part of those. That’s a well-managed company with a lot of talent and it’s really going to be in great shape. I am looking forward to running First Data.”
Frank Bisignano on whether he thinks things have changed in terms of loyalty being JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon’s strength:
“I don’t think so. Jamie is a fabulous leader, a mentor, he’s a friend, he’s been great to me, he was great to me when he hired me and he was great to me helping in how I made this decision in the end so your talk about loyalty and love really still does exist 100 percent.”
Frank Bisignano on what advice he would give Jamie Dimon right now:
“Keep doing what he does. He’s a great CEO. I have to work on the advice for the people at First Data.”
On the best lesson Dimon taught him:
“He taught me a lot of lessons. He was a lot of fun to work with, he was a friend, a mentor, always been good to me. He really taught me how to think about things in multiple dimensions, not only once but many many times. He is a fabulous thinker and a great leader and I was very fortunate to work him for the period of time I did.”
On taking over First Data:
“First Data is a really fabulous company, 40 years old, it was a technology and innovation company and is now, still innovating. It has great customers, the calls I received from the customers in the first two days encouraged me even more than I had before about the future. If you look at the talent within the company they’ve done a great job. Ed who is the interim CEO has been fabulous. The opportunity here is very large, the customer base is fabulous and the employee base is fabulous.”
On why First Data has a debt problem:
“You came out of a consumer crisis and this business gets affected by that consumer crisis. I think it’s a matter of working with our customers closely. This company does throw off profits, does throw off cash. It is a very good, strong company.”
On how US consumer spending affects the company:
“It looks very strong but we are thinking about international expansion also. We are in 35 countries, there’s fabulous relationships with those countries the ability to expand overseas is big and the ability to do business with our strategic partners in the US is big so I think it’s about expanding business and organic growth.”
On whether his strategy to deal with First Data’s debt is to grow larger:
“I think we will have good strong positive operating leverage, we will manage the expense number and grow the top line and the bottom line.”
