Robert A. Savage (January 5, 1934 – November 4, 2023) was a president and chief executive of

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

Bank, becoming chairman in 1991. He joined American Express in 1965 from

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

, where he was deputy chief trader of foreign currency. He was born in London, and he was among the "Blitz Babies" evacuated from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

during

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

. He received an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 1975. He was also a past member of the

Foreign Exchange Committee The Foreign Exchange Committee, founded in 1978, is an industry group that provides guidance and leadership to the global foreign exchange market. The FXC includes representatives of major financial institutions engaged in foreign currency trading ...

. During the

Edmond Safra Edmond Jacob Safra (; 6 August 1932 – 3 December 1999) was a Lebanese-Brazilian billionaire banker and philanthropist of Syrian descent. He continued his family tradition of banking in Brazil and Switzerland, and was married to Lily Watkins ...

affair of the 1980s, he was part of a management group led by Bob Smith which was close to buying the Trade Development Bank and

American Express Bank American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Express Tower, in the Batte ...

for $600 million. The bank's largest clients had been approached, and they were convinced they could swing a deal. Confidence was so high even a press release was being written up in anticipation of an announcement until then Chairman Jim Robinson inexplicably changed his mind. Savage died at his home on

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia (as the crow flies), a ...

on November 4, 2023.

References

External links

* 1934 births 2023 deaths Harvard Business School alumni Bankers from London 20th-century American businesspeople American chief executives of financial services companies {{US-business-bio-1930s-stub