JPMorgan’s Masters Said to Have Angled to Be CEO in Sale

When JPMorgan Chase & Co. set out to sell its powerhouse commodities unit, the group’s boss, Blythe Masters, made it clear that she wanted to go along with the business and continue as its chief.

The strategy, as described by a person directly involved, didn’t work out. After a $3.5 billion sale was announced last month, Masters, 45, one of the most senior women on Wall Street, announced her departure from JPMorgan. Masters told others that she would no longer have the same standing in the executive ranks after the sale, according to two people involved in the auction process. She also had no plans to join the unit’s purchaser, Geneva-based Mercuria Energy Group Ltd.