Thread: Amex CEO Kenneth Chenault

I looked this Chenault up and he's done good things for American Express. He increased marketshare by expanding the available cards and bringing back merchants who previously refused to accept Amex because the fees were too high. This is not a man from a privileged background. Growing up he did not apply himself in school and usually got C's. It wasn't until he got motivated later on to go to college and eventually Harvard law. He's a prime example of the American success story.

Many have criticized Chenault's move of transitioning Amex to a bank over the past couple weeks. The strategic move was legal but it raises ethical concerns by some over the legitimacy of the situation and the fact they are merely becoming a bank to benefit from the bailout package.

the highest paid most popular person on tv (oprah) is black
the moviestar that now makes the most in ticket sales on their movies is black (will smith)
the best athletes are black (too many to name)
the best musicians are black (too many to name)
now the president of the country will be black (do i need to say his name?)

i think it's time for everyone to stop pointing it out when someone is black. african-americans are extremely successful now so there is no reason we shouldn't expect a ceo of a top company to be one too!

Originally Posted by fffresh

...they are merely becoming a bank to benefit from the bailout package.

Uhm... yeah. Isn't that the point? That actually is the reason they did it. They want access to funds that the competition has access to. Citibank and Chase get to have a piece of the pie, so why not AMEX? I think they sold out big time. I've been a happy employee with American Express for quite some time and I've done my best to ride out this most recent storm with them, but this decision stinks of sell out to me and I've been putting my resume out there. I can't work with a company that says one thing and then goes and does another. The message they preach to their employees would suggest that they are above selling out just to get some welfare from the government.

Here is something else about Ken Chenault that you may not know.

Kenneth I. Chenault Profile - Forbes.com

CEO/Chairman of the Board/Director
American Express Company
New York , NY
Sector: FINANCIAL / Credit Services
Officer since January 2001


Forbes Rankings
58th on the Forbes Executive Pay in 2008
Procter & Gamble Forbes 400 Best Big Companies in 2008
Procter & Gamble - 31st on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2008
American Express - 105th on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2008
IBM - 37th on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2008
See All Rankings >

Compensation
Salary $1,238,461.00
Bonus $6,000,000.00
Other Annual Compensation $0.00
Long term incentive plan payouts $0.00
Restricted stock awards $6,476,202.00
Security underlying options $0.00
All other compensation $1,074,913.00
Option awards $ $8,288,342.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation $500,000.00
Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings $2,671,958.00
Total Compensation $26,249,876.00

That is no small chunk of change I tell ya...

And it is an issue with him being black. Youngins today don't know what it was like when blacks didn't have the right to vote and were made to sit in the back of the bus. Now they are the rap stars and sports heros, but there was a time when playing music and basketball were all that black men were allowed to do pretty much. For Ken Chenault to be as successful as he has become is a testament to the power that ones will can have. It is a fact that blacks in his generation did not grow up with the same opportunities as whites. Today they have the same opportunitys, but a lot of people are still too young to remember when that wasn't the case.