Managing Director and Head of Global Equity Capital Markets,
J.P. Morgan
For any global investment bank, the growing Chinese economy presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Already home to world’s second-largest equities market and third-largest bond market, China has many large and growing businesses that need, or will soon need, the services of an investment bank. The challenge is navigating China’s unique regulatory climate
But to Liz Myers, managing director and head of global equity capital markets at JPMorgan Chase’s, the rewards outweigh the risks. Expansion in that market is one of her priorities, and over the past year she has been allocating new resources to that effort.
Myers’ emphasis on China has made it easier for other executives at the firm to devote time and resources in pursuing opportunities there, despite the uncertainty inherent in an emerging market.
Her strong track bolsters her case for expansion. In 2017, Myers’ group raised more than $240 billion of equity capital for public and private companies and was the No. 1 underwriter for initial public offerings in the U.S. and Latin America. Publicly reported fees for the global equity capital markets business totaled $1.4 billion, a 20% increase over the previous year.
Myers joined the equity capital markets group in 1997 and has headed it since 2012. She said a willingness to let people take initiative — and sometimes fail — is key to her leadership style.
“One must empower one’s team through the delegation of both responsibilities and authority,” she said. “This is especially true in a hyper-competitive and entrepreneurial environment such as investment banking.”
