Matt Zemes (center), then chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., on February 27, 2017, in New York.
Kholod Eid | Bloomberg | Getty Images
former JP Morgan Chase Executive Matt Zemes will join the Trump administration as an adviser to the Social Security Administration, CNBC reported.
Mr. Seems is taking the unpaid position to support Frank Bisignano, a former JPMorgan colleague who took over as Social Security Commissioner last year, in his efforts to modernize the Social Security Commission, said people with knowledge of the move, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the move publicly.
He has been working since Monday at the Social Security Administration’s headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, and office placards with his name have already been installed, one of the people said.
Mr. Zemes is a former hedge fund trader who rose to prominence at the bank by helping to clean up JPMorgan’s $6 billion London Whale scandal, where he served as chief operating officer for about five years. He spearheaded technology and cost-cutting projects at the financial institution and was seen as the front-runner to succeed CEO Jamie Dimon until he stepped down in 2017.
The following year, Mr. Sams became president of private equity firm Cerberus, overseeing technology investments and helping the company turn around its stake in Deutsche Bank. After leaving Cerberus in 2021, Mr. Zams started an advisory and restructuring firm.
Zams, who also serves on key Treasury and Federal Reserve advisory groups related to bond markets, joins a government agency that relies on decades-old technology systems.
Beyond technology issues, the SSA is expected to run out of retirement trust funds within a decade, which could necessitate cutting benefits for millions of Americans.
As a special civil servant, Mr. Zams can remain in his new role for 130 days, but because he won’t be working full-time, that period could be longer, one of the people familiar with the move said.
