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PrintJul 28, 2009
J.P. Morgan is the inaugural corporate sponsor of a new project by the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) program, a national partnership of top U.S. corporations and universities that encourages talented students from diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in business, engineering and health sciences.
The firm pledged $1 million for the launch and execution of the new project - LEAD Global - which is designed to expose American students from diverse backgrounds to global career opportunities and different working environments alongside peers from different countries so that all participants might make better informed decisions when choosing a profession.
"It takes unique leadership and vision for a company, and more specifically, an Investment Bank to recognize that the earlier we invest in talent, and provide global exposure across multiple disciplines, the better equipped and more committed that talent will be to our firm," said Kim Davis, president of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. "LEAD-Global provides us with an incredible "talent advantage" with the next generation of diverse leaders."
The three-week program focused specifically on South Africa with students from The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, African Leadership Academy and Western Cape NGOs working alongside American students from high schools in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.
The University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town provided content delivery, and J.P. Morgan hosted 40 students from the "business track" at its Johannesburg offices, where they were given overviews of various lines of business by firm executives and spent time on the trading floor. Davis joined other high-level executives as a keynote speaker at various forums during the launch.
"We are thrilled the program has received such tremendous support from individuals, universities and companies like J.P. Morgan," said Ric Ramsey, LEAD president and CEO. "We truly believe we can make a difference in South Africa with the team we have assembled and look forward to furthering the mission of LEAD Global throughout the world."