UPDATE 2-Former Bear Stearns CEO to leave JPMorgan

(Adds Schwartz career background)

NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - Former Bear Stearns Cos Chief Executive Alan Schwartz, who was forced to sell his hobbled investment bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), will leave the bank after the summer, JPMorgan said on Thursday.

Schwartz had been offered a position as a senior deal maker , but is leaving to pursue "other career interests," according to an internal memo.

Although Schwartz, who came to prominence as a star M&A advisor, had been working on deals at JPMorgan, he did not have a specific role and so he will not be replaced, according to someone familiar with the move.

"After 32 years with Bear Stearns, the time is right for me to look toward the next phase of my career," Schwartz said in a memo.

Schwartz was named Bear's chief executive in January, succeeding long-time chief James "Jimmy" Cayne, who stepped down to become chairman after presiding over heavy subprime mortgage losses last year. At the time, Schwartz was adamant about the investment bank not being for sale.

"Being acquired is not a strategy," he told Reuters in a telephone interview at the time.

But weeks later, Bear Stearns faced a run on the bank and Schwartz sold the firm at a bargain price to JPMorgan Chase with the encouragement of the U.S. government. More than 7,000 Bear Stearns employees were laid off as a result.

Schwartz shot to Wall Street fame advising on large M&A deals, such as Disney's 1996 acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC Inc for $19 billion.

JPMorgan completed its purchase of Bear Stearns in May for $1.4 billion, a huge discount from where it traded only months earlier. (Reporting by Elinor Comlay; editing by John Wallace and Andre Grenon)