Filling in a gap on its senior management team, American Express Co. on Thursday said Gordon Smith had been named the president of the U.S. consumer card services group, with responsibility for all the companys consumer card businesses in the United States.
Mr. Smith, a 23-year veteran of American Express, reports to Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., the group president for U.S. consumer and small-business services. Mr. Kelly had held the consumer card services group job until May, when he was promoted to his current position overseeing the U.S. consumer card, small-business services, and consumer travel businesses. The job now held by Mr. Smith had been vacant since.
American Express would not make Mr. Smith available for an interview.
Mr. Smith, who took on his new job Sept. 10, had most recently served as the executive vice president in charge of the U.S. Service Delivery Utility, where he oversaw customer service operations for the companys U.S. card businesses. His promotion put him in the upper echelons of the company, which changed leadership at the beginning of the year when Kenneth I. Chenault took over from Harvey Golub as chairman and chief executive officer.
Mr. Smiths previous positions at American Express have included: senior vice president in charge of the American Express service center in Phoenix; senior vice president of operations and reengineering for the companys Latin America & Caribbean region; and senior positions in U.S. credit and fraud operations, at Amex Life Insurance Company, and in the international card and Travelers Cheque businesses.
Gordon is an outstanding leader who has done an excellent job as head of our U.S. card operations, Mr. Kelly said in a prepared statement. Under his guidance, we have made tremendous progress on many fronts, including delivering industry-leading service quality and developing new capabilities, such as online servicing.
