What the Chase Sapphire Reserve Creator Looks for When Hiring

Business Insider recently spoke with Pam Codispoti, the JPMorgan Chase exec responsible for creating the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card that became a sensation, about millennials, myths, and the other challenges she'll confront in her next job.

After her success running branded cards at JPMorgan, Codispoti was promoted back in October to run the banking giant's retail branch network. Unlike the many banks that are scaling back their brick-and-mortar presence, JPMorgan is making a contrarian bet and expanding its physical bank presence with 400 new locations in the next five years.

Codispoti will be guiding the expansion, and all those new branches mean she'll be overseeing a lot of hiring — the new locations will require more than 4,000 new employees — as well in her new role.

So what does Codispoti look for when she's hiring new talent? Adaptability, as well as the capacity and willingness to continually learn, are paramount, she told Business Insider.

"I look for the potential of someone to be a great business athlete," Codispoti said. "So that if we bring them into the firm, they're going to succeed in whatever role it is that they're going to be in — whether it's a field role, a marketing role, a financial and analysis role — that they have the potential to learn and to develop and take on new positions."

She used her own career trajectory as an example. She started with a strategy background, spent 12 years at American Express before jumping to JPMorgan Chase's branded cards division, and now after three years at the bank she's in a completely different line of business.

"I like the idea of bringing in folks like my own career progression who can move around to lots of different things," Codispoti said.

She continued: "Really folks that have a growth mindset — they're constant learners. They are willing to try things and take risks, both from a calculated risk from a business perspective and a career perspective. They're open to new things. People that are bold and welcome challenges. Those are some of the things we look for."