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Dear Reader,
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# Remember: Past CAA newsletters are archived on the CAA website under News.
 Friday, September 11th marked the 25th anniversary of 9/11. We have added four stories to the collection of remembrances of that day we have gathered over the last quarter of a century. (See below for links.) Click here for stories by Mark Kay, John Vaughey and a "vendor alumnus", Chris Mahoney, who was working for Moody's and had a meeting with Chase executives that morning.
Click here for an op-ed about readiness for future such catastrophes by Chase alumnus Michael Prasad, who became an emergency manager in response to 9/11.
# CORRECTION: JPMC did suffer at least one employee death as a result of the terrorist attack: Nicholas John, age 42. A UK citizen, then living in New Jersey, he was attending a conference held by the Risk Waters Group in the Windows on the World Restaurant, on the 106th Floor, North Tower. If we have missed any other JPMC employees who died that day, please let us know.
# Some employees, however, became ill subsequently, some fatally, as a result of exposure to the toxic dust cloud released by the collapse of the Twin Towers. On this sad anniversary we remember them and also ask for your help in verifying that Clementine (Tina) Kiah, who is seeking help from the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, was working a check encoding supervisor and payroll specialist at 55 Water Street on 9/11 and the immediate period afterward. If you remember her, please contact Andrea at news@chasealum.org.
If you want to add to this collection of essays or have a comment, please contact Andrea at news@chasealum.org.
NEWS & EVENTS (PAST AND FUTURE)
 # Alumna Hortensia Sampredo – one of the first women to be accepted into Chase Manhattan's Credit Training Program – will be inducted into the Cuban Bankers Hall of Fame next month. Read about her glass ceiling-smashing life during and after Chase. (She also answers to the titles Professor and Commodore.)
# STILL HOLDING YOUR BREATH? IT'S GONNA HAPPEN! What was the valuation of the bank when you worked there? Read FORTUNE's article, "The ‘Jamie premium’ nears $1 trillion as JP Morgan flirts with historic market valuation" Wrote Mia Osmonbekov, a news fellow at Fortune, "The financial giant was worth roughly $970 billion on Monday (August 17) morning—a modest stock-market rally away from becoming the first bank in the world with a $1 trillion market cap and a far cry from its $138 billion valuation on December 30, 2005, just before he took over. Last month, JPMorgan posted the highest-ever quarterly profit by a U.S. bank." At the market close on September 18, 2026, the stock's market cap was $929.49 billion, down $20 billion over the prior week.
 Added to the In Memoriam for Art Ryan: Video of Ryan's 2018 induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Hear him in the last two minutes of the video. To get a sense of who Ryan was and what was important to him, also listen to Ryan giving the 2019 Fiondella Lecture at his alma mater, Providence College, addressing how his humanities/liberal arts education prepared him to become CEO of one of the largest financial institutions in the world. (The video also features Chase and Providence College alumna Liz Flynn.)
 Is Jamie Dimon's eventual successor as CEO of JPMorganChase one of the two executives promoted last week to newly created roles as co-presidents? As Hugh Son writes for CNBC:
"Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh, who have jointly led the bank’s commercial and investment banking division since early 2024, were named co-presidents of JPMorgan effective immediately..
"As part of the changes, Petno, 61, becomes the sole chief executive of the commercial and investment banking division, while Rohrbaugh, 56, will take over as CEO of the firm’s consumer and community banking division, succeeding Marianne Lake."
Lake, 57, who many thought was in the running for CEO, announced last week that she would retire. In The Wall Street Journal, Alexander Saeedy wrote that Lake was "widely praised for years about her mastery of financial data and her comfortability talking with investors. She had a fast-paced style and many considered her one of the smartest executives at JPMorgan as she expanded the bank's branch network, credit-card offerings and profits."
Saeedy noted, however, that she also had negative feedback from her direct reports for her management style. Around the end of last year, Saeedy, wrote, "people close to Lake started to acknowledge that she wouldn't likely become the next chief executive."
"Though she is retiring from JPMorgan," Saeedy wrote, "Lake expects that she will eventually take a new job as a corporate executive," according to people familiar with the matter.
Click here for a gift article with coverage from The New York Times.
RET ON PRIVACY
Ret, a privacy expert, is offering a monthly column on privacy/security issues.
CAA TECH CORNER WITH DAN ALVAREZ
In his 11th feature dedicated to defining emerging trends in technology (in plain English), CAA board member Dan Alvarez explains how AI agents are used, what jobs they might threaten and what positions may be in even greater demand. The article is long (but easy to read and engaging), so it's in two parts.
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".
EVENT PHOTOS
# Remember: Dues-paying Chase Alumni Association members can explore the numerous photo albums on the website. Be sure to log in first.
 It finally felt like pre-pandemic days! More than 300 alumni attended the April 27th CAA reception so generously and graciously hosted by JPMorganChase at its new global headquarters at 270 Park Avenue.
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 of the Week: We guess Mattt Damon wasn't available for a photo shoot. The copy for this classic 1962 MHT ad reads:
The problem was: not to be a meal.
The intrepid Ulysses and his companions were trapped in Polyphemus’ cave. Polyphemus was a Cyclops, a frightful giant with one large eye in his forehead and an appetite for men.
Ulysses had blined him, but he continued to devour the men at a great rate. And a huge stone blocked the mouth of the cave.
Every morning, Polyphemus rolled back the stone to let his sheet out. Now that he could no longer see, he ran his hand over each sheep as it passed to make sure there were no men in sheep’s clothing.
Then he went out and blocked up the cave till his return in the evening.
Ulysses concocted a plan. The next morning, as Polyphemus knelt frowling at the mouth of the cave, Ulysses had his men hang beneath the sheep’s bellies. He had noticed that Polyphemus felt only their backs.
The moral is that no matter how overpowering a problem seems, there is a solution. But you have to go to the right place for it.
And the right place for your financial problems is Manufacturers Hanover Trust, with its specialized financial services for business and industry…its experienced staff of 10,000 men and women…its national and international network of correspondent banks and representatives attuned to trade developments here and abroad.
 # We're always looking for ideas for:We also invite alumni to share their upcoming (or very recent) milestone birthdays, ending in "0" or "5". (Please notify Andrea at news@chasealum.org close to your birthday, and if you're having a party, send a picture.)
Please send your story or story ideas to news@chasealum.org. As always, you can write something up, or Andrea can interview you and write it up for you.
MILESTONE BIRTHDAYS
 # Happy 80th birthday to Brahm Nirgunarthy on September 21, 2026! His 25-year tenure at Chase (1971-1996), included key leadership roles in Financial Controls, Operations and International MIS, as well as instrumental contributions to Chase Manhattan Trust Co. HK and heading Chase Credit Card Operations in Hong Kong. After Chase, he joined American Express as Regional Head of Risk Management for Japan, Asia-Pacific and Australia based in Sydney, and later headed Amex Card Operations for India and area countries from New Delhi. He retired to La Cañada Flintridge, CA, where he currently lives with his wife near their daughter and grandchildren.
Jim Cockefair turned 80 on September 8, 2026. He was a Vice President in Administrative Services at The Chase Manhattan Bank, retiring in 2004 after 25 years with the Bank. He and his wife celebrated his birthday milestone by going on a cruise earlier in the year. As for the day itself? "When I asked about my birthday, my wife’s response was, ‘We’re celebrating it.’ So who knows. She’s very creative."
 Stephen (Steve) O'Brien celebrated his 80th birthday on September 3, 2026. O'Brien left the bank in 2009 as Chairman of Chase Manhattan's International Trust and Investment Committee. He and his wife, Barbara (also a Chase alumna) live in Ely, a cathedral city about 15 miles from Cambridge England. This is a picture of the couple with their friend Jim Parker, another former JPMorganChase employee, celebrating O'Brien's birthday.
 Are you approaching a milestone birthday – a number ending in a zero or a five? We want to help you celebrate! Please let Andrea know at news@chasealum.org. Celebration photos are welcomed.
IN MEMORIAM
 # Stephen Jurcsek, a Hungarian immigrant who rose from working in Chase Manhattan's mail room to becoming a Vice President for Corporate Benefits, died on August 5, 2026. He was 87 and lived in Edison, NJ.
We are sorry to report that just five weeks later, on September 12, 2026, his wife of 62 years died. Grace Ann Jucsek joined Chase Manhattan immediately after graduating high school and became part of the bank’s newly established centralized typist pool. Her  accomplishments were recognized when she was featured in the bank’s 1965 annual report. The couple met at Chase and married in 1964.
She was active in her children's schools and took special joy in her 22 years of volunteer service with Catholic Scouting and received numerous awards in recognition of her dedication and hard work.
We send our condolences to their children, Chase alumni Steve and Tom Jurcsek.
 Richard J. Sweeney, who began a long career in corporate banking at Manufacturers Hanover Trust, died on August 24, 2026 in New York CIty. He was 79.
Thomas (Tom) O'Reilly, who retired from a 30-year career at The Chase Manhattan Bank in 1987 as a Senior Vice President, Human Resources, died on August 26, 2026 in Scottsdale, AZ. He was 93.
 Stephen Prostano, who became a respected innovator and leader in wealth management, multi-family office and global financial services – having led Chase Global Asset Management early in his career – died on August 11, 2026. He was 68 and lived in Greenwich, CT.
 Art Ryan, the much admired former President and Chief Operating Officer of Chase Manhattan Bank, died unexpectedly in Italy on July 28, 2026, while on vacation with his daughter and her children. He was 83. To add your remembrance to the many we've already received, send your tribute to news@chasealum.org. Please be sure to include your name, especially if it's not obvious from your email address.
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.
Here's a refresher on how to best use the 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. Narrow your search by typing in a location or job title.
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.
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 and newsletter archives, photo albums, membership directory, past In Memoriams and benefit information.
The Board of the Chase Alumni Association
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CHASE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
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