Austin Adams retired in 2006 as Executive Vice President and Corporate Chief Information Officer of JPMorgan Chase, the 3rd largest bank holding company in the world. He was responsible for technology and operations, managing almost 28,000 employees and a multi-billion dollar budget. He assumed that role upon the merger of JPMorgan Chase and Bank One Corporation in July 2004.

A 33-year banking veteran, Adams spent most of his career overseeing technology and operations during dramatic consolidation in the industry. Prior to the JPMorgan Chase – Bank One merger, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Bank One.

Prior to joining Bank One in 2001, he was CIO at First Union Corporation, now Wachovia Corporation.

Adams became the Head of Technology & Operations at First Union in 1985, following the merger with Northwestern Financial Corporation, which he joined in 1973.

In 1994 he was runner-up for U.S. Banker Magazine’s Chief Information Officer of the Year, and in 1998 was named one of the Top 10 CIO’s for the financial services industry. In 2002 Business 2.0 Magazine named him one of the 16 most influential technology people in the world, and Adams was recognized as the 2004 CIO of the Year by Waters Magazine.

He earned both a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and an MBA from Appalachian State University. He has been awarded Appalachian State’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and is a member of ASU Athletic Hall of Fame.

He’s presently on the Boards of two public companies: Dun & Bradstreet and Spectra Energy; and NCO, a portfolio company of JPMorgan Chase Private Equity.