Hiring and retaining neurodiverse talent is not typically framed as a growth strategy. Justin Nelson JP Morgan Managing Director thinks it should be. His position at J.P. Morgan Private Bank where he leads a Connecticut-based team overseeing more than $15 billion in assets gives him a credible platform to make that case.
Nelson argues that the financial services industry’s current hiring practices exclude a population whose skills align closely with the work that drives firm performance. The fix, he says, demands changes at the institutional level rather than individual goodwill.
A Talent Pool Misread by Conventional Metrics
Neurodiverse individuals are frequently filtered out during screening because standard hiring tools measure the wrong things. Interviews, in particular, test interpersonal ease rather than professional capability. Nelson notes that candidates who struggle to navigate a job interview may possess computational and creative abilities that go well beyond what is typically found among applicants who sail through those same interviews.
“Employers really need to change how they think about engaging with these people,” he states. That change begins with acknowledging that the screening tool and the job are two distinct things, and that optimizing for interview performance can produce a workforce that looks polished in conversation but lacks the analytical depth a financial firm actually needs.
Organizational Steps That Make a Difference
Justin Nelson’s recommendations are concrete. In hiring: design interview alternatives that allow candidates to demonstrate technical skills without being penalized for communication style. In management: break work into specific tasks with explicit context and build in regular structured check-ins rather than assuming employees will flag confusion on their own.
Through Broad Futures and Adelphi University’s Bridges Program, Justin Nelson JP Morgan extends these recommendations into direct action. Both organizations help employers build the internal capacity to hire and support neurodiverse employees. Nelson’s involvement reflects a belief that the financial sector needs institutional partners not just individual champions to make meaningful progress. Visit this page for more information.
See for more information about Justin Nelson JP Morgan on https://www.crunchbase.com/person/justin-nelson-a8e8