Good evening, everyone – apologies for the late arrival, but Kevin W. and Kevin G., and I just got back from a full day’s tour of Birmingham, AL:

Tonight, some news about a person who has been a longtime partner to Kresge and a force in community development in Detroit for more than a decade.

Last week, Peter Scher, Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Chase., announced that he will retire next spring after nearly 20 years with the company. For many of us in Detroit, that news stirred deep reflection on how much Peter has meant to this city and what his leadership has made possible.

Even though Jamie Diamon took a deeply personal interest in Detroit, Peter is widely recognized as the face of JPMorgan’s historic $200 million investment in Detroit following its bankruptcy in 2014. As head of JPMorgan’s corporate responsibility and philanthropy efforts, he developed the bank’s original strategy for Detroit -- a $100 million commitment focused on economic development and neighborhood stabilization -- and helped steer it into a successful example of corporate engagement in urban revitalization.

As Crain’s Detroit recounted in a recent article, Peter’s connection to Detroit began in the fall of 2013, when Dimon asked him to explore where the bank could invest to support the city’s recovery. Peter met Mayor Mike Duggan the following spring, shortly after the start of Duggan’s first term. “We sat down,” Peter recalled, “and he -- one of the things he did, I’ll never forget -- he pulled out maps of the city neighborhoods. One of the things I remember he said at that first meeting was that Detroit can’t come back unless the neighborhoods come back.”

That moment set the course for a remarkable partnership. Peter and the mayor went “neighborhood by neighborhood,” looking for opportunities where JPMorgan’s capital and expertise could make the greatest difference. The result was a model that combined corporate resources with civic vision, and that served as proof that a global institution could invest deeply and meaningfully in a single city’s future. Since then, JPMorgan’s deposits in Detroit have grown by more than $30 billion, a reflection not only of financial growth but of renewed confidence in the city itself.

Beyond Detroit, Peter has worn many hats. He oversees the JPMorgan International Council, Morgan Health, and the JPMorgan Chase Center for Geopolitics. Before joining the bank in 2008, he served as managing partner of the Mayer Brown law firm’s Washington, D.C. office and chaired its Government and Global Trade Practice. Earlier in his career, he was nominated by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a U.S. Special Trade Ambassador, where he helped negotiate China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. He also served as chief of staff for both the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Commerce—public service roles that clearly shaped his view of how institutions can work together for the public good.

Closer to home, Peter has long been a trusted partner to The Kresge Foundation, collaborating on initiatives that expand affordable housing, promote economic mobility, and strengthen community development. In fact, if not for Peter, initiatives like Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, and the creation of hundreds of units of affordable housing plus tens of thousands of square feet of commercial space through CDFIs like Invest Detroit simply would not have happened. These efforts have often exemplified the power of blended finance – the strategic use of philanthropic, public and private capital to unlock greater investment in communities that traditional markets too-often overlook. Through this approach, Kresge and JPMorgan Chase have demonstrated how social investments can accelerate change: combining financial rigor with community intent to produce measurable results for Detroit residents and neighborhoods.

I’ve had the deep pleasure of getting to know Peter throughout these engagements. One of the most memorable moments was in 2018, when JPMorgan made a very large-scale, highly choreographed announcement of their “Advancing Cities” initiative, a $500 million commitment to invest in urban communities across the continent – an initiative that was based in considerable part on their work in Detroit. Diamond– as he always does – provided a forceful and charismatic framing statement. But it was Peter – who had asked me to sit in the front row – who laid out specifically and clearly what the firm had learned in Detroit, how important both the mayor and philanthropy had been, and the extent to which Kresge had anchored so much of the work. It was vintage Peter: tightly-reasoned, compelling, and generous.

Peter’s career stands as a testament to what happens when business, government, and philanthropy move in concert—when leaders see beyond their institutional walls and commit to shared goals. There is no better case study than Detroit about what’s possible when that spirit takes hold.

As Peter prepares to turn the page, I am deeply grateful for his friendship and his belief in Detroit. His impact will be felt here for a long time to come.

Rip

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