Chase Alumni: Dimon Letter, Hallelujah + RIP: Peter Dodds, Frank Reilly, Phyllis DiDonato Kodner

 
 
 
 
  Dear [first_name]:
 
# Indicates new articles or articles that have added content
 
# Only one place remains (as of this writing) for CAA's first birdwatching event, led by Tod Winston (photo) of NYC Audubon. We'll meet at 8 am on Monday, May 13, 2024 for an up to three-hour birding walk in Central Park's magnificently rustic North Woods. Click here for details and to register. You must be a dues-paying CAA member to register (log in first!) and can bring one guest. At Tod's suggestion, we're limiting participation to 20 people, but we'll have a waiting list. If we have another 15 to 20 interested people, we'll schedule another session. No birding experience necessary! 
 
â–ºThe 20th anniversary of the merger between Bank One and JPMorgan Chase is coming up on July 1, 2024. That merger, of course, brought Jamie Dimon to JPMC.
We are looking for alumni from both Bank One and Chase who were involved with the merger and/or post-merger changes. If you have a story to tell, please contact Andrea at news@chasealum.org, preferably sooner rather than later!
 
 
NEWS & EVENTS (PAST AND FUTURE)                                            
 
# JPMC's Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, issued his annual Letter to Shareholders as part of the 2023 Annual Report.  
 
 
 
 
 
J.P. Morgan Wealth Management posted an interesting article in honor of Presidents' Day, "U.S. Presidents Over the Years: A Timeline of Financial Events". Writer Mary Mannion works in mentions of various heritage banks that are now part of JPMorgan Chase. 
 
Gene Ret (not pictured), a privacy expert whose 30-year Chase career included privacy work, gives some practical advice on how to avoid and recover from identity theft. Gene has also added something to the article following an alumna's question. Previously, Ret wrote for us on how to reduce spam texts, emails and phone calls.
 
Click to read 's article "Jamie Dimon’s $4 Trillion Machine: He made JPMorgan Chase the biggest bank in the world. What is it, exactly?" in New York Magazine. Its editors call it "One Great Story" – and it is.
 
CAA TECH CORNER WITH DAN ALVAREZ                                  
 
Get an MFA in the art of blocking hackers who want access to your online accounts! In his sixth monthly feature dedicated to defining emerging trends in technology, in plain English, CAA board member Dan Alvarez explains why, even if it's a little extra time and effort, you should get into the habit of using MFA. The story ends with a fun riddle.
 
Dan's columns look at tech trends at a "100-level" for Luddites, brilliant (of course) but non-technologically inclined bankers and anyone else in the financial world embarrassed to ask basic questions while looking at the "big picture". 
 
LIFE AFTER CHASE                                                                            
 
Dave Farrell had a short tenure with The Chase Manhattan Bank of South Africa before The Standard Bank of South Africa (SBSA) absorbed Chase's three South African branches, but Chase left an impression and opened up his world. Farrell's account includes many "bankers in danger" moments of his lifetime in African banking, which, he says, is not for the faint of heart.
 
 
 
EVENT PHOTOS                                                                              
 
# Remember: Dues-paying Chase Alumni Association members can explore the numerous photo albums on the website. 
 
Click here to see photos of CAA Vienna's recent luncheon meeting, back at the newly renovated St. Johann's Club. (Photos are visible by all readers.)
 
 
 
 

An impromptu reunion lunch was held the week of December 13, 2023 at New York's Villa Mosconi. Pictured (L-R) are: Robert Plows; Joe Murphy: Janet Besso Becker; Tom Lynch; Ken Jablon: Tim McGinnis.

MOMENTS IN BANK HISTORY                                                         

(And remember...you have friends at Chase Alumni who want to see photos of your  Bank memorabilia! Please send to news@chasealum.org.)

#  Object(s) of the Week: A 1987 two-page magazine spread celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Business Committee on the Arts (BCA), founded in 1967 by Chase Manhattan's David Rockefeller. BCA continues to encourage, inspire and stimulate businesses to support the arts in the workplace, in education and in the community. The BCA committee provides leadership on key initiatives including messaging, advocacy and strategic alliances within the private-sector community.
 
The ad reads in part: "Today [1967] the BCA is made up of corporations from all fields, who last year helped provide support to the tune of over $700 million. They've realized that with government giving less to the arts, it's up to business to give more. As a long time patron of the arts, chase would like to take this opportunity to applaud the BCA and its members for this outstanding performance. Beyond which we offer just one word for the coming years. Encore!"
 
 
 
Object(s) of the Week Follow-up: First Republic Bank Collectible Lip Moisturizer in Natural Mint. When we ran this, we asked our readers, "What do you think the 'unfamiliar words' would be?" We expected someone to say, "No collateral is necessary," or "Who cares about risk?" Instead, we got a wonderful list of unfamiliar (or at least somewhat tricky-to-use-in-a-sentence) words from alumni author Ralph White. Click here to see his list. Oh – and Ralph's sensational memoir, Getting Out of Saigon: How a 27-Year-Old Banker Saved 113 Vietnamese Civilians, is coming out in paperback on April 9, 2024.  

 
 
Gene Berry sent us a brochure used to recruit potential MBAs and college students to Chase in the late 1970s. Click here to see the inside of the brochure, which features such CAA members as Peter Holzer, Bill Flanz, Sally French (Phelps), John Oakes, Amy Gadol, Bruce Gregory and Ben Jinks, as well as Gene Berry. See if you can find someone you know! Below, see a map showing Chase's global footprint at the time.
 
 
 
 
 
Hong Lien Nguyen recalls how she was hired in 1966 for the new Chase Manhattan branch in Saigon and how, after "Black April" – the fall of Saigon in 1975 – she continued to work for Chase in New York and the Ivory Coast, retiring after 30 years with the bank.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bank Culture: Values Learned and Retained – We've begun a new series in which alumni articulate how corporate culture shaped the banks they worked at and how corporate culture differed among the banks that are now under the JPMorgan Chase umbrella. We begin with three contributors: Janin Campos, Richard J. Moss and Elease Ruddock.
     Please send your thoughts – or full-blown essays – to Andrea at  news@chasealum.org. Please indicate which bank you worked for and when, and at what stage of your career. Here are some prompts for responses: How were you made aware of expected values, beliefs, behaviors? Were they set at the top or by your more immediate managers? Were they ever challenged in the heat of battle -- or after your bank may have merged with another? Did aspects of the initial culture stay with you always?  
 
LOOKING FOR INPUT...                                                                                             
We're always looking for new Lives After Chase (in non-financial areas) and Moments in Bank History. We also welcome new contributions to such existing series of articles as: Ex-Pat Housing, Corruption, Mentors, Bankers in Danger and our newest, Corporate Culture. Please remember to send your story or story ideas to Andrea at news@chasealum.org. As always, you can write something up, or Andrea can interview you and write it up for you.
 
POLICY CHANGE: We're following up on an alumnus suggestion that when we publish  comments from CAA members, we identify the writers by the years they worked for Chase, Chemical, MHT, First Chicago, WaMu or whatever bank that is now part of JPMorgan Chase. So when you write in, please remember to provide that information.
Many thanks in advance!
IN MEMORIAM                                                                                  

Please send remembrances and news of recent alumni deaths to news@chasealum.org.

# Peter Dodds, who served Chase Manhattan in the 1970s in London, New York and Malaysia, where he headed Amanah Chase Merchant Bank, died on March 17, 2024 in Plymouth, MA. He was 81.
 
 
 
 
 
# Frank Reilly, 92, died on March 24, 2024. He retired as a senior vice president at Chase after a 30-year career there. He also served as president of the American Banking Association.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
# Phyllis Kostner, 74, died in Naples, FL, on March 28, 2024. She worked in many support positions at Manufacturers Hanover, Chemical and Chase for more than 30 years, retiring in 2007.
 
 
 
 
 
 
# Philip (Phil) Young, 76, died at home in Santa Rosa, CA, on March 24, 2024. He began his career in international corporate banking with Chase Manhattan Bank, NY, working for Chase in the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong and Mexico. Numerous remembrances are posted.
 
 
 
 

Lawrence "Ladd" Willis, 79, who once led Chase Manhattan's internal consulting group, died on March 21, 2024, in Southampton, NY. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
John F. King, 91, who spent his first 15 years in banking at Manufacturers Hanover Trust, died on March 18, 2024. He went on to lead major banks in California and become a civic leader in the Los Angeles area.
 
 
 
 
 
 

John W. Challice, 86, a 40-year veteran of Consumer Banking at Chase Manhattan Bank, died on March 16, 2024.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kenneth R. Murray, 85, who began a long and successful career as a banker as a VP at Chase Manhattan Bank, died in Naples, FL, on March 5, 2024.  
 
 
 
 

Bob Gottschall, a senior manager in Chase's NY metro area branch system during his 38 years with the bank, died on February 5, 2024. He was 84.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

# We only recently learned of the January 1, 2023 death of Donal (Don) Schmidt, who was with Chase for 33 years, in branch banking and other areas. He died in Dallas, TX, age 73.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

How Best to Use the CAA Membership Directory                        

 
If you have not done so recently, please update
the information in your profile, so that the CAA and other members would be better able to contact you. Using the Membership Directory is a privilege of dues-paying CAA members.
 
Now get a refresher on how to best use the membership directory to find an individual or
groups of individuals you would like to contact. (Note that only dues-paying members have
access to the directory.).
 
To get to the directory, log in at www.chasealum.org. On the home page menu, click on Membership and then Member Directory.
 
When searching by name, or in any of the other search areas, we advise starting by putting in less information in the search field. For example, if you want to find William Smith, type only Smith in the Search by Name box; if you put in “William Smith” and he is calling himself Bill Smith in his profile, you will not find him.
 
If you want to find members who live near you, enter the city, state or country (or any combination) under Location. The Years at Chase search is very valuable. Type in 1996-2005, for instance, and you will find everyone who worked for the bank (including heritage banks) during those years. You can narrow your search by also typing in a location or job title.

Once you have entered the search words, click on Search at the bottom of the page. When members’ names appear, click on their names to obtain more detailed information about them.

If you have any problem with any of this, contact Ken Jablon at jablonkt@aol.com.

As always: If the links do not work for you, you can always access the latest stories by logging on to CAA's web site.

If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to Ken Jablon or call Ken (during normal working hours) at 212-799-9525.

By the by: Don't forget to explore the rest of the CAA Web site. (www.chasealum.org) Just click on the home page menu buttons to find the news archive, photo album, membership directory, past In Memoriams and benefit information.

 

The Board of the Chase Alumni Association  

          
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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