Kenneth I. Chenault

Chairman and Managing Director, General Catalyst;

Former Chairman and CEO, American Express

KEN CHENAULT is the Chairman and a Managing Director of General Catalyst. From 2001 – 2018, Ken was Chairman and CEO of American Express. Upon his retirement from American Express, Warren Buffett, the company’s largest shareholder stated, “Ken’s been the gold standard for corporate leadership and the benchmark that I measure others against.”

Ken has been honored by multiple publications including the TIME100 Most Influential People list, which celebrated Ken together with Ken Frazier in 2021 for their corporate and social activism; specifically, for mobilizing hundreds of corporate leaders to advocate for equitable voting rights in the U.S., and for co-founding SkillsRight (formerly OneTen), a nonprofit organization helping companies prioritize and operationalize skills-first hiring.

Ken serves on the boards of Airbnb, Berkshire Hathaway, Bilt Rewards, Campus, Chief, Guild Education, and the Harvard Corporation. He also serves on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution’s Advisory Council for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.