Kenneth Irvine Chenault (born Long Island, June 2, 1951[1]) has been the CEO and Chairman of American Express since 2001.[2] [3] He was the third African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
He attended the Waldorf School of Garden City,[4] received a B.A. in History from Bowdoin College in 1973, and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976.[1] After Harvard he worked as an associate with the law firm Rogers & Wells in New York City, and as a consultant for Bain & Company.[1] He joined American Express in 1981, working in strategic planning.[5] He became President and Chief Operating Officer in 1997.[5]
He is currently co-chair of the Business Roundtable,[6] a director at IBM,[5][3] and a member at the Council of Foreign Relations.[7] In 1995, Ebony listed him alongside Michael Jordan, Rosa Parks, Bill Cosby and Colin Powell as one of 50 "living pioneers" in the African-American community.[8]
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