Coming to the United States from India when she was 16 years old, Anu Aiyengar first earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics and computer science from Smith College in 1991. From there, she began her career with American Express, serving as a manager from 1993 to 1997, and continued her studies at Vanderbilt University. In 1999, she graduated with a Master of Business Administration in finance and joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. as a managing director. Cultivating significant expertise in mergers and acquisitions, she rose to be become the head of mergers and acquisitions in 2015. Since 2010, Ms. Aiyengar has excelled as the co-head of global mergers and acquisitions for JPMorgan Chase & Co.
In her current role with JP Morgan Chase, Ms. Aiyengar is responsible for managing all mergers and acquisitions for the company as well as working with clients around the world on their strategic priorities. Her ultimate goal is to be a trusted adviser and partner with JP Morgan Chase who can take a global client through their entire life cycle, starting from their early development and continuing as they grow and mature in the field. Standing out in the industry for her emphasis on putting her clients first, Ms. Aiyengar has been continually motivated throughout her career by her interest and skill in strategic thinking, which has allowed her to navigate the legal, human and company elements that are relevant to her work.
Attributing much of her success to her grit, resilience and luck, Ms. Aiyengar is also incredibly grateful to the mentors and role models who have inspired her throughout her career. In that vein, she hopes that she herself can serve as a role model for young women, drawing on her longstanding passion for helping underprivileged youth and women gain experience in the world of finance to enhance their opportunities. Ms. Aiyengar has spent time as a senior mentor with Rock The Street, Wall Street; regularly sponsors girls from Hunter College High School through JP Morgan Chase; is actively involved with Dress for Success; and has served on the board of Youth INC since 2021.
Since 2020, Ms. Aiyengar has held a position on the board of trustees for her alma mater, Smith College. In order to keep abreast of developments in her field, she also maintains professional affiliation with the Women’s Bond Club and the Investment Bank’s Women Network (WOTM-CIBN), where she has spent time as co-chair. In her free time, Ms. Aiyengar has enjoys involving herself in her hobby of Indian classical dance, and she is a member of both the Asia Society and the World Music Institute.
For her excellence, Ms. Aiyengar has been the recipient of a number of honors and awards, which have given her considerable professional satisfaction. Named one of the Most Powerful Women in Banking by American Banker, she has also been recognized among Barron’s Top 100 Most Influential Women in the U.S. and among the Top 20 Professional Dealmakers in Mergers and Acquisitions by DealBook. Furthermore, her accomplishments have also been noted by her professional organizations. In 2007, the Women’s Bond Network presented her with the Rising Star Award and, in 2019, Dress for Success honored her with the Impact and Innovation Award.
Above everything, Ms. Aiyengar considers her favorite parts of her career to be helping JP Morgan Chase to achieve their vision through her work as an adviser and helping the people in her team reach their greatest potential and grow to be the best versions of themselves. She is always particularly impacted by moments where someone turns to her and asks her opinion for how to proceed on a matter, since it is not only recognition of her skill, but also of the trust her clients have in her. Furthermore, Ms. Aiyengar is incredibly proud of having grown her JP Morgan Chase franchise up from not even in the Top 10 to being ranked first or second in the global ranking.
