For its new head of practice management, JPMorgan tapped an industry veteran with more than one family connection to Merrill Lynch.
Phil Sieg joined the bank this week and reports to Kristin Lemkau, who has been
Sieg retired from Merrill Lynch in 2017 after 35 years in the business. His brother Andy Sieg runs Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and his daughter Caitlin is a financial advisor with the firm in Chicago.
In his new role, Sieg and his team will provide advisors with improved tools and resources, according to a memo sent to employees from Lemkau. Sieg will collaborate with Chris Harvey, CEO of J.P. Morgan Securities, and Eric Tepper, who oversees the firm’s branch-based financial advisors.
He joins the bank at a time it intends to expand its reach into wealth management. Earlier this year,
The bank’s $1 billion annual tech spend is part of its arsenal.
With Sieg, the firm gains an executive with deep experience in the business. While at Merrill, he served as head of ultrahigh-net-worth client strategy. He also oversaw the firm’s Private Banking & Investment Group, which caters to wealthy clients. Sieg started his career in wealth management as a financial advisor.
Lemkau cited these and other experiences as reasons to hire Sieg. “What impressed me most about him was his clarity of thought, his experience delivering excellence at scale, and that he keeps the advisor’s experience at his heart,” she wrote.
In a nod to the coronavirus pandemic that has upended the economy, Lemkau said that it may be an unusual moment to start a new job, “but few people could hit the ground running like Phil.”
