Kenneth Irvine Chenault (born June 2, 1951) is an American business executive. He was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

from 2001 until 2018. He is the third African American CEO of a

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

company.

Early life and education

Chenault was born in Mineola, New York, the son of a dentist and dental hygienist. His father, Hortenius Chenault, was a graduate of

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

and Howard University Dental School. The elder Chenault passed the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

State dental exam with the highest score ever recorded as of January 2014. Chenault is a member of

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

fraternity. Kenneth Chenault attended the Waldorf School of Garden City, where he served as senior class president. He then received a B.A. in history from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

in 1973 and a J.D. from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1976.

Career

Chenault began his career as an associate at the law firm

Rogers & Wells Rogers & Wells was an international law firm founded in New York City in 1873. After several name changes, it was renamed for William P. Rogers and John A. Wells. Firms that merged with it include Dwight, Harris, Koegel & Caskey of New York. ...

(1977–1979) in New York City, and as a consultant for Bain & Company (1979–1981). Chenault joined American Express in 1981, working in its Strategic Planning Group. He became president and chief operating officer in 1997. He became CEO of American Express in 2001. Chenault has served on several boards throughout his career. Beginning in 2007, he served on the Executive Committee of the Business Roundtable and a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

. Chenault served as a member of the Executive Committee of The Business Council in 2011 and 2012.The Business Council, Official website, Executive Committee
In 1995, '' Ebony'' listed him as one of 50 "living pioneers" in the African-American community. 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. In May 2010, he gave the commencement speech at Wake Forest University and

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

. As CEO of American Express in 2007 and 2008, Chenault earned a total compensation of $50,126,585 and $42,752,461 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. In 2016, Chenault earned a total compensation of $22 million. On October 18, 2017, he announced that he would retire as its chairman and chief executive on February 1, 2018. He was succeeded by Stephen J. Squeri. In December 2018, it was announced that Chenault would step down from his board roles at IBM and Procter & Gamble on February 13, 2019. In January 2018, Chenault announced he would become chairman and managing director of General Catalyst Partners and joined the board of directors of Airbnb. Chenault has served on the board of directors of Facebook since February 2018. In March 2020 it was announced that Chenault was stepping down from the Facebook board and joining the board of Berkshire Hathaway, replacing Bill Gates.

Civic activities

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. 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. On February 10, 2014, it was announced that he had been elected to fill a vacated seat of the Harvard Corporation; the 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. On February 6, 2017, Chenault was named Chair of the Advisory Council for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. In April 2019, he was appointed as a member of the NCAA's Board of Governors. In 2021, he appeared on the ''Time'' 100, '' Time''s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Personal life

Chenault resides in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

, with his wife and children. Chenault is a member of Westchester Country Club.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chenault, Kenneth 1951 births Living people African-American businesspeople American chief executives of financial services companies American Express people American management consultants Bain & Company employees Bowdoin College alumni Directors of Facebook Directors of IBM Harvard Law School alumni People from Mineola, New York Businesspeople from New Rochelle, New York Waldorf school alumni American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies African-American history of Westchester County, New York