Kenneth Chenault
| Kenneth Chenault | |
|---|---|
Chenault and his wife at Barack Obama's second state dinner
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kenneth Irvine Chenault June 2, 1951 Mineola, New York |
| Spouse(s) | Kathryn Chenault |
| Alma mater |
Bowdoin College Harvard University |
| Occupation | CEO of American Express |
Kenneth Irvine Chenault (born June 2, 1951) is an American business executive. He has been the CEO and Chairman of American Express since 2001. He is the third black CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Chenault was born in Mineola, New York, Nassau County, as the son of a dentist and dental hygienist. His father was Hortenius Chenault a graduate of Morehouse College in Georgia, and a 1939 graduate from Howard University Dental School who passed the New York State dental exam with the highest score ever recorded as of January 2014. Chenault attended the alternative Waldorf School of Garden City, where he served as senior class president. He then received B.A. in history from Bowdoin College in 1973, and J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1976 (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).
After Harvard, he worked as an associate at the law firm Rogers & Wells (1977–1979) in New York City, and as a consultant for Bain & Company (1979–1981).
He joined American Express in 1981, working in the Strategic Planning Group. He became president and chief operating officer in 1997. He became CEO of American Express in 2001.
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.
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