JPMorganChase Says Jeff Bezos Is Among Advisers to Security and Resiliency Initiative

JPMorganChase said Monday (Dec. 8) that Jeff Bezos and Michael Dell will be among the 12 members of an external advisory council for its new Security and Resiliency Initiative (SRI) that was announced in October.

The SRI aims to help companies grow, innovate and accelerate manufacturing, primarily in the United States, the bank said in a Monday press release.

Its external advisory council will include Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon, and Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, according to the release.

Other members from the business sector include Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company; Alex Gorsky, former chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson; Paul Ryan, partner at Solamere Capital and former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and Phebe Novakovic, chairman and CEO of General Dynamics.

The external advisory council will also include members from government and the military, including Chris Cavoli, retired general and supreme allied commander Europe and commander of U.S. European Command; Ann Dunwoody, retired commanding general of U.S. Army Materiel Command; Robert Gates, former secretary of defense; Paul Nakasone, retired general and former NSA director and commander of cybersecurity command; and Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state.

The twelfth member of the council will be Todd Combs, investment manager of Berkshire Hathaway, who will join JPMorganChase and become head of the SRI Strategic Investment Group in January. This $10 billion group will make direct equity investments in the defense, aerospace, healthcare and energy sectors to support SRI’s mission, according to the release.

“We are humbled by the extraordinary group of leaders and public servants who have agreed to join our efforts as senior advisers to the SRI,” Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorganChase, said in the release. “With their help, we can ensure that our firm takes a holistic approach to addressing key issues facing the United States — supporting companies across all sizes and development stages through advice, financing and equity capital.”

When introducing the SRI in October, JPMorganChase said the initiative is a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to “facilitate, finance and invest” in “industries critical to national economic security.”