The Bowdoin Orient

December 8, 2000
Volume CXXXII, Number 12

Chenault '73 to become first African-American CEO of blue-chip company

by BLAKENEY SCHICK, STAFF WRITER

   Kenneth I. Chenault '73, president of American Express, will be promoted next month to become the first black CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of a blue-chip company listed on the Dow Jones.
   Originally, Chenault had been slated to succeed his boss Harvey Golub at a shareholders' meeting in the spring of 2001, but in April of 1999 Golub announced his intention to retire at the end of 2000.
   Chenault has been credited as being the key to the recent revitalization of American Express, which he joined in 1981. His contributions to the $19.1 billion company include reducing operating costs of his divisions by $3 billion and creating new alliances, which increased the number of cards offered by the company and thus cultivated new card holders. He was named president of American Express in 1997.
    While at Bowdoin, Chenault was an active member of the African-American Society and graduated magna cum laude as a history major with honors. After leaving Bowdoin, Chenault earned his law degree from Harvard University in 1976. He has also participated in fund-raising for The Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families in New York City, which is headed by another Bowdoin alumnus, Geoffrey Canada '74.
   Chenault was awarded an honorary degree by the College in 1996. His speech during the commencement exercise emphasized what he called "two key messages"-the need for a more inclusive society and the need for a "greater adherence to principles and values in guiding our behavior." Chenault was, at that time, the vice chairman of American Express.
    Colleagues have been quoted as saying that Chenault has a great deal of integrity. One top executive was quoted by Black Enterprise as saying, "If a man at that level-black, white or green-doesn't have a certain amount of ego or fire, then he can't do the job. You have to be pleasant to be around, but decisive and clinical about your decisions while remaining humane, and [Chenault] has all those qualities."