Executive Summary
JPMorgan Chase is accelerating its investment in its mid-cap investment banking division, making a series of senior hires across different specialties—consumer, energy, business services, natural resources, and capital goods—underscoring a strategic pivot to capture fee income and deal flow from mid-market firms. Key hires include two new managing directors for its North America mid-cap M&A team, three senior bankers for mid-cap deal coverage in media, beverage, and education & business services, and several focused on business services sectors like HVAC, janitorial, and landscaping. Strategies include thematic sector bets, regional presence build-out, and leveraging its commercial banking client base to scale revenue substantially over the next few years.
Analysis
Recent moves by JPMorgan indicate a sharpening focus on mid-cap companies—typically those with enterprise values in the $2–$10 billion range—as a core growth driver. In September 2025, the firm hired Rohan Juneja (from Jefferies), Ryan Lake (from Arlington Capital Advisors), and Lauren Vitale (from Lincoln International), bringing in sector-specific expertise (media & communications; beverages; education and business services) to deepen its coverage of high growth, less volatile industries. The mid-cap unit reportedly grew ~40% in headcount over the prior year; it has closed over 175 deals so far in 2025 and generated approximately $2.5 billion in investment banking fees in the second quarter—helped by an uptick in M&A and debt underwriting activity.
By December 2025, JPMorgan added two more seasoned professionals—R. Sean Daugherty and Robert Rosenfeld—as Managing Directors in its North America mid-cap M&A practice. Both are based in Chicago; Daugherty brings over 23 years in private equity advisory (consumer focus at Guggenheim and Lazard), while Rosenfeld offers nearly two decades of experience in consumer sector M&A (from Baird and BMO Capital Markets).
Parallel to deal coverage hiring, JPMorgan has also bolstered its business services vertical—sectors seen as resilient to AI disruption and tariffs—by recruiting leadership from Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. These hires (e.g. Erik Carneal, David Sweet, Ye Xia) are part of a stated plan to reach $500 million annual revenue in business services IB over the next 3–5 years, growing senior headcount “five‐fold” and leveraging relationships with over 11,000 mid-cap clients from its commercial banking business.
Strategically, these deliberate sector-specific hires—media, consumer bags, business services, energy, capital goods—suggest a two‐pronged approach: (1) balancing sources of fee income across sectors with different sensitivities to macro risks, and (2) building sustainable pipelines by anchoring efforts in themes like recurring revenue, private equity interest, consolidation (especially rollups), and regional depth (e.g. Phoenix, Chicago). But several open questions remain: what valuations thresholds define JPMorgan’s mid-cap in its various verticals; how much overlap or competition there will be with its large-cap advisory practice; and how these hires are being funded relative to investment in junior talent and infrastructure.
Supporting Evidence
- JPMorgan’s mid-cap investment banking team has expanded by about 40% year-over-year, growing to over 250 bankers. [2][6]
- The unit has completed more than 175 mid-cap deals in 2025 amid elevated market volatility. [2]
- Q2 2025 investment banking fees rose approximately 7% to $2.5 billion, driven by increased M&A and debt underwriting. [2]
- September 22, 2025 hires: Rohan Juneja (from Jefferies), based in New York covering media & communications; Ryan Lake (from Arlington Capital), based in Phoenix covering beverage sector; Lauren Vitale (from Lincoln International), based in Chicago focusing on education & business services. [2][6]
- Max Barrett was added as Managing Director for natural resources; Carl Torrillo as Managing Director in New York to cover capital goods. [2]
- December 2, 2025 hires: R. Sean Daugherty and Robert Rosenfeld named Managing Directors for North America mid-cap M&A, both based in Chicago; Daugherty brings consumer/private equity advisory experience from Guggenheim and Lazard; Rosenfeld has experience in global consumer household products (Baird, BMO). [1][7]
- JPMorgan is pushing to quintuple its business services investment banking revenue to $500 million over the next 3–5 years; to grow senior headcount fivefold in 2–3 years. [7]
- Business services sector coverage is being built out via hires: Erik Carneal as vice chair, David Sweet as managing director, Ye Xia as executive director, for clients across professional and commercial services, industrial & digital infrastructure sectors. [7]
- Target sectors are seen as insulated against turbulence—business services are less exposed to AI disruption and tariffs; energy and capital goods also form part of complementary verticals. [5][7]
- JPMorgan aims to leverage its commercial banking relationships with ~11,000 mid-cap companies in its existing client base. [7]
Sources
- [1] www.reuters.com (Reuters) — 2025-12-02
- [2] www.reuters.com (Reuters) — 2025-09-22
- [5] www.reuters.com (Reuters) — 2025-08-21
- [6] www.bloomberg.com (Bloomberg) — 2025-09-22
- [7] www.reuters.com (Reuters) — 2025-10-24
- [8] www.bloomberg.com (Bloomberg) — 2025-04-02