Ken Chenault, the former Chief Executive Officer of American Express, is leaving the boards of Procter & Gamble and IBM according to regulatory filings made on Thursday.
“Chenault made this decision in order to allow more time to focus on a range of activities in the next phase of his life,” P&G said in its filing.
The companies said in separate filings that Chenault will retire from both boards on February 13, 2019. After retiring from AmEx last year, Chenault was named Chairman and Managing Director at the venture capital firm General Catalyst.
Prior to joining General Catalyst in 2018, Chenault was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express Company, a position he held from 2001 to 2018. Under his leadership, American Express built one of the world’s largest customer loyalty programs ‘Membership Rewards’ and earned global recognition as a leader in customer service.
Chenault is recognized among the business world’s experts on leadership and brand management. He has been honored by multiple publications including Fortune Magazine, which named him as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders in its inaugural list in 2014.
He serves on the boards of Airbnb, Facebook, IBM, Procter & Gamble, the Harvard Corporation and many non-profit organizations including the Smithsonian Institution’s Advisory Council for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. He also serves on the board of trustees for NYU Langone Health.
