JPMorgan Asia Pacific vice-chair El-Omari retires after 29 years

[HONG KONG] Mac El-Omari, vice-chairman of investment banking for Asia Pacific at JPMorgan Chase & Co, is retiring from the bank after serving nearly three decades.

The Hong Kong-based banker will stay with the US lender for a few months to smooth the transition and will leave in the summer, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News.

"I'll forever consider JPMorgan as integral part of my life," Mr El-Omari wrote in a note on his LinkedIn profile. "It was an amazing ride. You're all family to me."

Mr El-Omari joined JPMorgan in 1992 in New York, and relocated to Hong Kong in 1996, working in consumer and retail investment banking, the memo shows. He took on his current role in 2017.

A JPMorgan representative confirmed the contents of the memo.

During El-Omari's tenure at JPMorgan, the bank advised on Hong Kong initial public offerings including Budweiser Brewing APAC's US$5.8 billion listing in 2019 and baby formula maker China Feihe's US$855 million offering the same year.

The firm also advised on the 2016 deal that saw Shandong Ruyi Group acquire a majority stake in French fashion company Groupe SMCP SAS.

BLOOMBERG