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American Express Co. today announced a reorganization of its top leadership, including the departure early next year of company President Alfred F. Kelly Jr. Kelly, 51, has indicated he wants to become a CEO and, "given my plans for the coming years, we both agreed that was not likely to happen" at AmEx in the near future, Kenneth Chenault, AmEx chairman and CEO, said in a statement released today. The company has no plans to name a president to succeed Kelly, a 22-year AmEx veteran, an AmEx spokesperson says. AmEx also consolidated leadership of its global consumer, small-business and network businesses under 28-year veteran Edward P. Gilligan, vice chairman. Gilligan, 50, previously headed AmEx's global business-to-business group. AmEx also reorganized its global services organization under Stephen J. Squeri, who was promoted to group president. Under the new structure, Squeri, 50, who previously headed technologies and corporate development, now oversees customer service, technologies, operations, business processing and information management. In addition, AmEx formed an "enterprise growth" group to generate incremental fee revenue and to identify emerging payment technologies. The company is seeking a senior level executive from outside AmEx to lead that group and expects to announce the appointment within a couple of months, Chenault said. In a memo to employees posted today on the company's Web site, Chenault, 58, said the reorganization was necessary to be meet the challenges of "the deepest and longest downturn in decades." Though he believes the global economy will recover, "we can expect a 'new normal' of slower billings growth as consumers and businesses remain cautious about their spending," Chenault said, calling for more corporate efficiency and greater innovation.
