About Ken Chenault

Ken Chenault (born June 2, 1951) is an American business executive. He was the CEO and Chairman of American Express from 2001 until 2018. He is currently the Chairman of the global venture capital firm General Catalyst. Ken Chenault, who is of African American heritage, was born in Mineola, New York, the son of a dentist and dental hygienist. His father, Hortenius Ken Chenault, was a graduate of Morehouse College and Howard University Dental School. The elder Ken Chenault passed the New York State dental exam with the highest score ever recorded as of January 2014. Ken Chenault attended the Waldorf School of Garden City, where he was senior class president. He then received a B.A. in history from Bowdoin College in 1973 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1976. Ken Chenault began his career as an associate at the law firm Rogers & Wells (1977–1979) in New York City, and as a consultant for Bain & Company (1979–1981). Ken 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. Ken Chenault has sat on several boards throughout his career. Beginning in 2007, he was on the executive committee of the Business Roundtable and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was a member of the executive committee of The Business Council in 2011 and 2012. In 1995, Ebony listed him as one of 50 "living pioneers" in the African-American community. Ken 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. As CEO of American Express in 2007 and 2008, He 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, Ken 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 he would step down from his board roles at IBM and Procter & Gamble on February 13, 2019. In January 2018, Ken Chenault announced he would become chairman and managing director of General Catalyst Partners and joined the board of directors of Airbnb. He has been on the board of directors of Facebook since February 2018. In March 2020 it was announced that Ken Chenault was stepping down from the Facebook board and joining the board of Berkshire Hathaway, replacing Bill Gates.