JP Morgan Exec To Caldwell U Students: Use ‘Science, Art, Heart'

CALDWELL, NJ — If you “marry the science, the art and the heart of what you are doing,” it will be a powerful combo that can help you rise to success. That’s the message that JP Morgan executive Alma DeMetropolis, a Caldwell University alum, brought to her alma mater during a recent summit at her company’s headquarters in Summit.

During the summit, several Caldwell University undergraduate and graduate students received invaluable professional advice from DeMetropolis, who serves as New Jersey Market President for JP Morgan Chase & Co. and New Jersey Market Manager for JP Morgan Private Bank. The financial factotum has also been involved on the boards or councils of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, the Liberty Science Center, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Nature Conservancy in New Jersey.

DeMetropolis, who was the first in her family to go to college, will be honored at Caldwell University’s Presidential Scholarship gala on April 20 at Mayfair Farms in West Orange.

According to Caldwell University administrators:

“As a little girl growing up in Brooklyn, [DeMetropolis] lived in an orphanage for several years. She returned home, attended a public high school in Brooklyn and graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies with a minor in accounting. Her original plan was to go to medical school, but she was a bit of a “math geek” and soon found herself working at J.P. Morgan. She started during the first Persian Gulf War, and her first assignment was to analyze J.P. Morgan’s risk exposure to sovereign countries. She began working with the CEO and the CFO and received an assignment in London, dealing with the emerging euro. For the last 26 years, she has served the company in many capacities including international assignments in London, Zurich, Paris and Latin America.”

Here are some of the lessons that she recently imparted to Caldwell University students:

COMMUNICATION - “Communication is incredibly important. This is a people’s business,” DeMetropolis told the students. “When interviewing, don’t underestimate what a thank-you note can do,” she added, recalling that her company recently wanted to hire a candidate but that the person lost out on the job after failing to write a thank-you note.

WORK HARD, HAVE HUMILITY - “Be proactive,” work hard and deliver, and bring humility to the job, said DeMetropolis, who also encouraged the students to reinvest in themselves and their education as they pursue their careers and to keep current.

THE ART OF YOU - “There’s an art to who you are,” said DeMetropolis. She said that IQ, EQ (emotional intelligence) and LQ, “the love portion,” are all important characteristics to bring to the table, and employees should work on all of those fundamentals. “If you marry the science, the art and the heart of what you are doing, people will want to work with you and will trust you,” she said.

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Photos: Caldwell University