Get to know John Harsch, Market Team Lead in Frisco, TX

Q&A

Tell us your background.

I’ve spent my entire career in sales and leadership roles serving private wealth clients and the advisors who work with them. I started in the Northeast, moved to the West Coast and most recently led the Private Wealth Management business for Morgan Stanley’s Southwest Market from Dallas. Each stop taught me something different: The Northeast gave me rigor, the West Coast showed me how founder and entrepreneurial wealth is created, and leading the Southwest taught me how to build teams and client relationships across very different markets while making North Texas home.

How would your colleagues describe you?

I think they’d say, above all, that they trust me. They’d also say I’m relentless when a client is facing a challenge—I don’t stop until we’ve found a solution. And I hope they’d say my care for the people I work with, colleagues and clients alike, is authentic. In this business, people can tell the difference.

Describe your leadership style.

My leadership style is best described as servant leadership. My job is to make the people around me successful, so I’m collaborative by nature and I roll up my sleeves alongside the team, whether  preparing for a client meeting or working through a complex planning problem. I set a clear goal, we work backward together on how to get there and everything is measured by one standard: delivering the best possible outcome for the clients we serve.

What’s the best piece of career advice you were ever given?

Early in my career, a manager told me to put the client first in every decision and to hold myself to the highest standard of integrity while doing it. That means choosing what’s right for the client over what’s easiest, fastest or most convenient for us. Be honest about what you can deliver, say the hard thing early and never trade a client’s trust for a short-term win. The test he gave me has stuck with me ever since: If you wouldn’t be comfortable with the client seeing how a decision was made, don’t make it that way. Trust is the whole job, and my job is to protect it.

What excites you most about joining J.P. Morgan Private Bank?

J.P. Morgan has extraordinary capabilities, an incredibly talented team and values that mirror my own. The firm’s four tenets of exceptional client service, operational excellence, integrity and a winning culture were a key factor in my decision to join. Together with the strength of the largest bank in the United States, those qualities give us the opportunity to bring all of that together for clients here in North Texas. This region has drawn companies at every stage, from new ventures to mature enterprises, and what excites me most is being the partner they can count on through the good times and the challenging ones.

What do you hope to accomplish in your first year?

My first year is about getting the right team of people in place, building meaningful relationships with the business owners and community leaders who contribute so much to this marketplace, and finding where J.P. Morgan can play its part in helping the community grow. I believe an institution with the reputation and resources of J.P. Morgan will be an incredible partner to the institutions, businesses and families that make North Texas such a special place for all of us.

What do you love most about working with clients in North Texas?

The entrepreneurial energy. Many of the families I work with built something themselves: a business, a career that brought them here or a company they’re getting ready to sell. They’re optimistic, they’re direct and they care about what their wealth will mean for the next generation.

Tell us about the growth happening across North Texas. How has the region evolved over the last five or ten years?

The transformation has been remarkable, and growth keeps moving north. Plano’s Legacy West became a corporate hub anchored by Toyota’s North American headquarters. Frisco is now home to the PGA of America, and Prosper and Celina have become some of the fastest-growing communities in the country. Collin County alone added more than 40,000 residents last year. Alongside that growth, the families and business owners here have more complex needs than ever, and they want a partner who understands both their business and their family.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Family time with my wife and my daughters comes first. Beyond that, you’ll find me on the golf course, out on the water fishing or at the smoker working on my barbecue. I’m also in the gym most mornings, and I love to cook and pair a good meal with the right wine.

What is one fun fact about you?

I’m a bit of a health and wellness nerd. I’m always researching the latest thinking on how to train smarter, recover better and stay sharp. My family will tell you I’ve tried more than a few experiments on myself.