Kenneth Irvine Chenault (born June 2, 1951) is an American business executive. He was the CEO and Chairman
Chairman of American Express
American Express from 2001 until 2018.[4][5] He is the third black CEO of a Fortune 500 company.[6]

Contents

1 Biography

1.1 Early life, education, and legal career 1.2 CEO of American Express 1.3 Chairman
Chairman of General Catalyst Partners 1.4 Compensation 1.5 Philanthropy 1.6 Personal life

2 References 3 External links

Biography[edit] Early life, education, and legal career[edit] Chenault was born in Mineola, New York, Nassau County, the son of a dentist and dental hygienist.[7] His father, Hortenius Chenault, was a graduate of Morehouse College
Morehouse College and Howard University
Howard University Dental School. The elder Chenault passed the New York State dental exam with the highest score ever recorded as of January 2014.[8] Kenneth Chenault
Kenneth Chenault attended the alternative Waldorf School of Garden City,[9] where he served as senior class president.[7] He then received a B.A. in history from Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College in 1973, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School in 1976. On February 10, 2014, it was announced that he had been elected to fill a vacated seat of the Harvard Corporation; the Corporation
Corporation is the chief fiduciary authority of the University and is the smaller of the two governing boards, the other being the Harvard Board of Overseers).[10][11] After Harvard, he worked as an associate at the law firm Rogers & Wells (1977–1979) in New York City, and as a consultant for Bain & Company (1979–1981).[10][12] CEO of American Express[edit] He joined American Express
American Express in 1981, working in the Strategic Planning Group.[13] He became president and chief operating officer in 1997.[13] He became CEO of American Express
American Express in 2001.[14] He is currently co-chair of the Business Roundtable,[15] a board member at IBM,[5][13] and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[16] He is a member of the Executive Committee of The Business Council for 2011 and 2012.[17] In 1995, Ebony listed him as one of 50 "living pioneers" in the African-American community.[18] Chenault was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2008, he gave the commencement address at Howard University.[19] In May 2010, he gave the commencement speech at Wake Forest University[20] and Northeastern University.[21] On October 18, 2017, he announced that he will retire as its chairman and chief executive on February 1, 2018. He will be succeeded by Stephen J. Squeri.[22] Chairman
Chairman of General Catalyst Partners[edit] In January 2018, Chenault announced he would become chairman and managing director of General Catalyst Partners.[23] Compensation[edit] As CEO of American Express
American Express in 2007 and 2008, Chenault earned a total compensation of $50,126,585[24] and $42,752,461[25] respectively. In 2009, he earned a total compensation of $16,617,639, which included a base salary of $1,201,923, a cash bonus of $10,450,000, an option grant of $3,985,637, and other compensation worth $980,079.[26] In 2016, Chenault earned a total compensation of $22 million.[27] Philanthropy[edit] On November 15, 2010, Old North Foundation recognized Chenault with its Third Lantern Award for individual commitment and dedication to public service. The Foundation honored Chenault and American Express for their significant contributions to the preservation efforts of many significant monuments and landmark structures, including the steeple of the Old North Church.[28] Chenault and wife, Kathryn, are founding donors to the Art for Justice Fund, which aims to reduce prison populations and strengthen employment opportunities for those leaving.[29] Personal life[edit] He resides in New Rochelle, New York, with his wife and children.[30] Chenault is a member of Westchester Country Club.[31] References[edit]

^ " American Express
American Express CEO Ken Chenault: 'There's a $25 trillion opportunity'". fortune.com. Retrieved 2015-08-09.  ^ "An interview with Kenneth Chenault, CEO at American Express". london.edu. Retrieved 2015-08-09.  ^ Surane, Jennifer. " American Express
American Express Lifts Chenault's Pay 19% to $22 Million for '16". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 January 2018.  ^ "Board of Directors and Executive Officers". American Express. Archived from the original on 2006-10-21. Retrieved 2007-05-11.  ^ a b "Kenneth I Chenault profile". Forbes. Retrieved 2007-05-11.  ^ White, Gillian B. "There Are Currently 4 Black CEOs in the Fortune. 500". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2018-01-25.  ^ a b " Kenneth Chenault
Kenneth Chenault Biography – Facts, Birthday, Life Story". Biography.com. 1951-06-02. Retrieved 2012-03-20. [permanent dead link] ^ http://nkaa.uky.edu/record.php?note_id=508 ^ lived in the incorporated village of hempstead ."Ken Chenault: The Rise of a Star" Business Week
Business Week Dec. 21, 1998 ^ a b "Kenneth Chenault: Corporate CEO". CNN. February 2002. Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-05-11.  ^ http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/02/chenault_gordon_mills_named/ ^ "Kenneth I. Chenault". The White House. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.  ^ a b c Bianco, Anthony (December 21, 1998). "KEN CHENAULT: THE RISE OF A STAR". Business Week. Retrieved 2007-05-11.  ^ Moyer, Liz (2017-10-18). " American Express
American Express CEO Ken Chenault to leave after 17-year run". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-01-25.  ^ "About us: Officers". Business Roundtable. Archived from the original on 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2007-05-11.  ^ See for example the transcript of a luncheon over which he presided: "New Realities in the Media Age: A Conversation with Donald Rumsfeld". Council on Foreign Relations. February 17, 2006. Archived from the original on August 10, 2008. Retrieved 2007-05-11.  ^ The Business Council, Official website, Executive Committee Archived 2013-07-21 at the Wayback Machine. ^ "50 who changed America – influential African Americans". Ebony. November 1995. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-05-11.  ^ "Commencement Speech at Howard University". Howard.edu. 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2012-03-20.  ^ American Express
American Express CEO to deliver address, Window on Wake Forest, March 22, 2010. Accessed 2010-03-22. ^ May commencement speakers announced Archived 2010-03-25 at the Wayback Machine., Northeastern University, March 22, 2010. Accessed 2010-03-23. ^ Andriotis, AnnaMaria (2017-10-18). " American Express
American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault to Step Down After 16 Years". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-01-31.  ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (2018). "For His Next Act, Ken Chenault Turns His Focus on Silicon Valley". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-23.  ^ 2007 CEO Compensation for Kenneth I. Chenault Archived 2009-04-14 at the Wayback Machine., Equilar ^ 2008 CEO Compensation for Kenneth I. Chenault Archived 2009-04-14 at the Wayback Machine., Equilar ^ 2009 CEO Compensation for Kenneth I. Chenault Archived 2009-04-14 at the Wayback Machine., Equilar ^ " American Express
American Express Lifts Chenault's Pay 19% to $22 Million for '16". Bloomberg.com. 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2018-01-28.  ^ "Kenneth Chenault, American Express
American Express Chairman
Chairman and CEO Receives". Bloomberg. Retrieved 12 March 2013.  ^ Pogrebin, Robin (2017-06-11). "Agnes Gund Sells a Lichtenstein to Start Criminal Justice Fund". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-09-20.  ^ Sexton, Julia (2009-01-23). "Westchester Magazine". Westchester Magazine. Archived from the original on 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2012-03-20.  ^ http://www.celebritynews24-7.com/ken-chenault-net-worth/

External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Kenneth Chenault

Appearances on C-SPAN

Business positions

Preceded by Harvey Golub Chief Executive Officer of American Express 2001–present Incumbent

v t e

American Express

Payment products

Accolades Cards Charge cards Credit cards ExpressPay Traveler's cheques Centurion Card Plum Card

Spun-off companies

Ameriprise Financial First Data
First Data Corp. Lehman Brothers Merchants Despatch Railway Express Agency Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment

Notable current and former executives

Henry Wells William Fargo J. C. Fargo Howard L. Clark Sr. Ralph Reed James D. Robinson III Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Sanford I. Weill Harvey Golub Kenneth Chenault Gary Crittenden

Corporate directors

Kenneth Chenault
Kenneth Chenault (Chairman) Daniel Akerson Charlene Barshefsky Ursula Burns Peter Chernin Vernon Jordan
Vernon Jordan Jr. Jan Leschly Rick Levin Edward D. Miller Frank Popoff Robert D. Walter Ron Williams

Other

The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman American Express
American Express Incentive Services Salad Oil Scandal World Monuments Watch 65 Broadway Falmer Stadium
Falmer Stadium (The American Express
American Express Community Stadium) Small Business Saturday Three Worl