Announcement of 2020 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series Schedule

The 2020 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge, a Series of 3.5-mile team running/walking/post-event partying events with roots going back 43 years, will expand into three cities – Buenos Aires, Dallas-Fort Worth and Philadelphia.

The addition of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, marks the Corporate Challenge debut in South America. The Series, which debuted with one race in Central Park in 1977, will for the first time be in all six inhabited continents this year.

In total, the 2020 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series will be in eight different countries – Argentina, Australia, China, England, Germany, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States. It will look to build on the 251,299 total runners and walkers from 7,581 companies that entered in 2019.

This is the first time the Corporate Challenge Series has expanded since 2011, when Shanghai joined. Johannesburg and Singapore came aboard in 2004, and before that you must go back to 1984 to find a Series expansion with three or more new cities in a single year.

“This aggressive expansion serves two purposes,” said Ariel Johnson Lin, Executive Director in Sports & Entertainment Marketing for JPMorgan Chase. “It places us in markets most strategically important to JPMorgan Chase as a firm and is also an unmistakable signal to our participants around the world that the Corporate Challenge is strong, relevant and here to stay.”

Buenos Aires will become the first South American city to host a Corporate Challenge event when its 3.5-mile (5.6km) race takes off this November. More details on the race course location and registration will be forthcoming.

“I’m incredibly proud to host the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge’s first event in South America,” said Facundo Gomez Minujin, senior country officer for Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia at J.P. Morgan. “The Buenos Aires race offers an ideal opportunity for companies to promote team building, wellness and collaboration while supporting a good cause. We hope that this becomes a major event on the corporate calendar in the coming years and a place where Argentinian businesses meet to compete in a healthy environment and help build a sense of community.”

Dallas-Fort Worth returns to the Corporate Challenge after a 16-year hiatus. It was last held in 2004 when it attracted 5,057 entrants from 183 companies in the final year of a four-year run in downtown Dallas. The 2020 race will be held in the fall, with information on race location and registration available in due course.

“We’re experiencing an era of exponential growth for our bank in DFW. JPMorgan Chase has leaped from 3,000 employees in 2003 to 12,400 workers today, with more on the way once we’ve completed the new 12-story tower in Plano,” said JPMorgan Chase’s Mike Lister, who headed the local campaign to bring the Corporate Challenge back to North Texas. “This internationally-renowned event is a wonderful opportunity to expand the JPMorgan Chase brand in our community, interact with our clients and engage our dedicated employees in a new and powerful way.”

Philadelphia was last a member of the Corporate Challenge Series in 1997, drawing a crowd of 1,204 runners and walkers from 102 businesses to a Center City race course. The Corporate Challenge had also been in the Delaware Valley between 1987-1994. Its 2020 race date is Thursday, October 1, with race location and registration details to be announced.

“We’re tremendously excited to have been chosen as a host market for the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge,” said Tom Horne, Delaware Market Leader, JPMorgan Chase. “We have a strong base in the Delaware Valley and our workforce in Delaware is 11,000-strong. We’re sure to have high participation from our employees who are incredibly engaged on efforts related to a healthy lifestyle and those that benefit the community.”

“We’re so proud that Philadelphia has been chosen as a host city for the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge,” said Steve Wright, head of the Philadelphia Market Leadership Team, JPMorgan Chase. “We know it’s a competitive process and we can’t wait to show our Philly pride with this longstanding J.P. Morgan tradition. It’s a great time to bring this event to our area – we’re expanding our presence in this market and are eager to build on the momentum to further engage with our clients and deepen our relationships in the community.”

The 2020 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series is scheduled to begin on Thursday, March 26 in Johannesburg. Other confirmed dates include Singapore (April 8), Chicago (May 21), New York City (May 27-28), Rochester (June 2), Frankfurt, Germany (June 17), Buffalo (June 18), London, England (July 1-2), San Francisco (September 15), and Sydney (October 28).

More information will be forthcoming on the Boston, Shanghai and Syracuse events.

The 37^th running of the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Championship – featuring the first-place men’s, women’s and mixed teams from all cities in the 2019 Series – will be held on July 1 in London. It will be the second time the capital of England has hosted the Championship.

About J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series
The J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series is the longest-running and most successful corporate team event in the world. The 3.5-mile road races are all inclusive, open to racers, joggers and walkers, ages 18-65+, from multinational companies to local manufacturing and entrepreneurial businesses. Each Corporate Challenge also provides a marketing platform for a local not-for-profit organization, with J.P. Morgan donating in celebration of all entrants.