After 16 years at the helm of American Express, and 37 years within the company, Kenneth Chenault, 66 years old, will retire. The american group of the issuance of credit cards, announced Wednesday the departure of its director general, one of the few leader of a large company with the black american with Kenneth Frazier, the boss of the pharmaceutical lab Merck. He will be replaced on the 1st of February by the vice-president Stephen Squeri, a former boss of the division manager, the cards issued to businesses.
“We begin a new chapter in a strong position and this is the opportune time to pass the baton to someone who has played a central role in everything we’ve accomplished. Steve knows the industry. He knows the business and the brand. He knows the market and knows how important the relationships we have built with our customers,” said Kenneth Chenault.
A very good year
This retirement comes as the company has recovered from the loss of large partnerships, such as those signed with Costco Wholesale and JetBlue Airways. The title has gained nearly 22% since the beginning of the year and the group raised its forecast of earnings per share by 2017 5.80-5.90 to $ (4,90-5,00 euros), against 5,60-5,80 dollars.
AmEx announced at the same time a profit up 19% poor the third quarter, the growth of credit and spending its customers who have compensated for the increase in its costs. Net income, group share, reached 1.36 billion, or $ 1.50 per share, compared to 1.14 billion, 1.20 dollar per share, in the third quarter of 2016. Revenues, net of interest expenditure, increased from 9 per cent to 8.44 billion dollars.
Appeal to “Millenials”
But the group is also facing competition from large american banks. A war that’s been particularly a rage among the “Millenials”. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have launched, respectively, Sapphire Reserve, Prestige and Premium Rewards, credit cards banking offering big benefits. To compete, AmEx has launched in September Blue Delta Skymiles, which was launched in September at the destination of the “Millennials”.
(with AFP and Reuters)
