With everyone being in debt these days it must be nice to be the CEO of American Express. Ken Chenault’s post however is well deserved. Below is a great interview in which Chenault describes the ways he defines and teaches leadership, and also offers detailed guidelines on how to “stay liquid” in business. Towards the end of the video, Chenault also gives some anecdotes on decisions he made which reflect his business ethics/values (for example Amex keeping their dividend).
Some interesting facts on Chenault:
-One of the first African American CEO’s of a Fortune 500 company
-BA in History from Bowdoin College (don’t underestimate those History Majors!)
-JD from Harvard Law School, worked at a law firm then a consulting agency (which is how he got noticed by a senior exec at Amex)
-In two years, he grew Amex’s merchandising business from $150 million in sales to $500 million.
-Was responsible for guiding the company after the Sept 11 attacks (They lost 11 employees and the Amex headquarters were damaged)
-Listed as one of 50 “living pioneers” in the African-American community by Ebony Magazine
For more on Chenault click HERE, HERE, or HERE.
