How the Corporate World Is Helping Veterans Navigate Life After Service

After four combat deployments to Afghanistan and an operational deployment in Korea, Austin Barr left the military and moved to Plano, Texas to enroll in JPMorgan Chase’s Military Pathways Development Program (MPDP). The two-year rotational program recruits top-performing military veterans and positions them for leadership opportunities at JPMorgan Chase by providing them with opportunities to work on the company’s fastest growing initiatives.

“I was influenced by the financial crisis, seeing how we got through that as a nation. I learned how very important the financial industry is,” Barr says. “The appeal of working in financial services was the opportunity to make a positive impact all around the world.”

Barr’s current assignment is working on the operational integration of WePay, a payment platform for small and medium-sized businesses that JPMorgan Chase acquired in 2017. In his role, Barr helps to integrate the technology, processes and systems of a start-up company within the nation’s largest bank.
 

photo by Ronnie Dunlap

Texas, particularly JPMorgan Chase’s new Plano campus, is a hot destination for the Military Pathways Development Program and home to more than 20 of the program’s veterans. Plano’s MPDP associates are currently integrated across the bank’s different business lines, including wealth management, consumer banking, commercial banking, payment services and the corporate sector.

“From our recruiting efforts, we know Plano is a place veterans want to live and raise a family,” says Anthony Chiocchi, program manager for the Military Pathways Development Program. “The desire to live and work in North Texas is strong.”

Since 2013, JPMorgan Chase has hired 81 veterans into the Military Pathways Development program across the United States. The goal is to bring aboard 30 new candidates each year.

“This is part of our company-wide commitment to hire, retain and promote veterans,” says Chiocchi. “We are creating a pipeline of military veterans to come in and be leaders at our firm.

Learn more about how JPMorgan Chase is helping to position the military community for personal and financial success.