American Express 1998 Annual Report Download - page 22

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20
lead TRS International and Al Kelly to head
Consumer Card Services. Both had senior level
responsibilities in their groups and our ability to
replace departing executives with such outstand-
ing staff is a testament to our management depth.
We move into 1999 with great confidence in
our strategy and our people. We will work hard
to strengthen and leverage our worldwide repu-
tation across all our businesses to achieve our
vision for American Express: to become the
world’s most respected service brand. We look
forward to continuing to deliver the superior
value our shareholders expect.
Sincerely,
Harvey Golub
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Kenneth I. Chenault
President and Chief Operating Officer
February 22, 1999
the majority of categories we measure, and we
are nearing world-class targets for certain key
dimensions. Scores among different racial groups
in the United States, an area of focus for us,
improved from the previous year, but we can still
do better. We will continue to address these
issues in our ongoing efforts to foster a highly
effective organization.
Leadership is also key to our future success,
and we were pleased to welcome Richard McGinn,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucent
Technologies, as a new member of our Board of
Directors. We will benefit from his insight and
guidance as we continue to reach for ambitious
growth targets in an era of increasing competition.
Charles Duncan, a member of our Board since
1981, has reached the mandatory retirement age
for Directors and will not stand for reelection.
Charles is an extraordinary individual who com-
bines intelligence, integrity and wisdom. We were
fortunate and proud to have him serve as a mem-
ber of our Board. We are sorry to lose him.
During the year, Vice Chairman Chuck Farr
left the Company to pursue other opportunities.
We benefited from Chuck’s counsel and contri-
butions and wish him well in his future endeavors.
Tom Ryder left TRS International to become
CEO of Reader’s Digest and Phillip Riese left
Consumer Card Services to become CEO of
OptiMark Technologies. We were sorry to see
them go. However, we named Jim Cracchiolo to