Former ambassador becomes Japanese CSR head at JP Morgan

The financial services group JPMorgan has appointed Christopher J. LaFleur, the former US ambassador to Malaysia, as its head of corporate responsibility for Japan.

LaFleur has previously been a political officer at the US embassies in Tokyo and Paris, US consul in Sapporo, Japan, political adviser at the US mission to the United Nations, and chief of the offices of political-military and external affairs in the Tokyo embassy. His other diplomatic service has been in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

His appointment is designed to give greater focus to JPMorgan’s corporate responsibility policies, one of the main planks of which is its support for Magic Bus, a non-profit organization that works with children and young adults in India through outdoor activities and sport. The organization offers life skills that promote resilience and psychological and emotional well-being among the children. JPMorgan operates a voluntary payroll deduction system to collect employees’ donations for Magic Bus activities.

Staff also donate to charities of their choice through another arrangement called United Way.