internal
Stephen J. Squeri
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Executive
7 yr
7 reports
American Express Company ·AXP
Functional structure anchored by powerful U.S. Consumer president
Financial Services · Fortune #55 · Functional structure · 75K employees · New York, NY
View as of:
8
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 10)
3.4
Avg span
moderate
3
Max depth
3 levels
3 yr
Avg tenure
stable vs FY2024
75%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-12-31 · 10-K
Revenue
$41.3B
Operating income
$2.8B
Net income
$10.8B
Total assets
$300.1B
Shares out
687M
Sourced from American Express Company DEF 14A · filed 2026-03-25 ↗ View on SEC
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American Express Company organizational chart
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Functional structure anchored by a powerful U.S. Consumer president. This page maps American Express’s CEO-led organization, highlights key executives and spans, analyzes why the company operates without a COO, and compares its structure with major payments and financial peers.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Global Innovation Role changed role as Enterprise Innovation
January 2026: Created a Global Innovation role to scale emerging technologies.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Add Chief AI Officer Introduce a Chief AI Officer reporting to the CEO to centralize GenAI and agentic commerce initiatives.
- Create COO and consolidate operations Insert a COO layer and move GMNS and Commercial Services under that role to reduce CEO span.
Atlas work this supports
- Connect Workday or UKG Get these analytics for YOUR org — tenure, span of control, headcount, automatically from your HRIS.
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- Plan a Reorg Use this as a starting point. Model scenarios, compare structures, present options to your board.
The people
Who's running this
8 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
internal
Howard M. Grosfield
Group President, U.S. Consumer Services
U.S. Consumer
2 yr
0 reports
internal
Christophe Y. Le Caillec
Chief Financial Officer
Finance
3 yr
0 reports
internal
Rizwan D. Joabar
Group President, Global Commercial Services
Commercial
1 yr
0 reports
Christopher D. Young
Chief Risk Officer
Risk
4 yr
0 reports
Open Role
President, Global Merchant & Network Services
Network
1 yr
0 reports
internal
Laureen E. Seeger
Chief Legal Officer
Legal
5 yr
0 reports
Open Role
Chief People Officer
HR
1 yr
0 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 2 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
Stephen J. Squeri $46.2M
- Base salary
- $1.73M
- Bonus
- $11.33M
- Stock awards
- $23.49M
- Option awards
- $5.40M
- Pension change
- $66K
- Other
- $4.23M
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
Christophe Y. Le Caillec $13.1M
- Base salary
- $933K
- Bonus
- $5.90M
- Stock awards
- $4.96M
- Option awards
- $1.14M
- Other
- $159K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The businesses
How American Express Company divides the work
4 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
U.S. Consumer Services
25K employees
Group President, U.S. Consumer Services (Howard M. Grosfield)
Leads U.S. consumer card issuing, premium products and partnerships.
Global Commercial Services
15K employees
Group President, Global Commercial Services (Rizwan D. Joabar)
Manages commercial cards, B2B payments and global servicing.
Global Merchant & Network Services
12K employees
President, GMNS (Open Role)
Oversees merchant acquiring, network services and acceptance expansion.
Finance
4K employees
Chief Financial Officer (Christophe Y. Le Caillec)
Controls financial reporting, capital management and investor relations.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
American Express is distinctive for concentrating profit and growth leadership in U.S.
Consumer Services under a single Group President. Unlike many diversified financials, AmEx retains a strongly functional structure, with business presidents reporting directly to the CEO rather than through a COO.
The CEO maintains a wide span with eight direct reports, reflecting confidence in experienced internal leaders and a culture of promotion from within. Risk, Legal and Finance remain centralized, reinforcing regulatory discipline appropriate for a Category III bank holding company.
This structure supports AmEx’s integrated payments model, enabling tight coordination between issuing, acquiring and network economics while preserving strong functional oversight.
- No Chief Operating Officer
- U.S. Consumer Services is the dominant profit center
The comparison
How American Express Company stacks up
Compared with peers like Visa and Mastercard, American Express runs a deeper operating bench inside the firm rather than relying on a pure network model. Its structure more closely resembles JPMorgan’s functional discipline, but without a universal bank’s divisional sprawl. Relative to Discover and Capital One, AmEx …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
American Express Company
3 levels
4 levels
4 levels
5 levels
4 levels
6 levels
Avg C-suite tenure
Has COO / Has CAIO
American Express Company — no COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
The most significant recent change was the creation of a new Global Innovation role in early 2026 to accelerate technology-led growth.
- Date not confirmed reorgGlobal Innovation Role Enterprise Innovation
January 2026: Created a Global Innovation role to scale emerging technologies.
Source - Date not confirmed departedDouglas E. Buckminster Vice Chairman
December 2025: Transitioned from Vice Chairman to retirement-eligible advisory status.
Source
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2026-03-25
- CEO
- Stephen J. Squeri
- CEO span
- 8
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 3 yr
U.S. Consumer Services emerged as the most influential operating unit.
Named executive officers (4)
- Stephen J. Squeri - Chairman and CEO since 2018
- Christophe Y. Le Caillec - CFO since 2022
- Howard M. Grosfield - Group President, U.S. Consumer Services since 2023
- Rizwan D. Joabar - Group President, Global Commercial Services since 2024
FY2024
DEF 14A filed 2025-03-14
- CEO
- Stephen J. Squeri
- CEO span
- 9
- C-suite
- 6
- Avg tenure
- 3.5 yr
Vice Chairman role still active in 2024.
Named executive officers (3)
- Stephen J. Squeri - Chairman and CEO since 2018
- Christophe Y. Le Caillec - CFO since 2022
- Douglas E. Buckminster - Vice Chairman since 2019
FY2023
DEF 14A filed 2024-03-15
- CEO
- Stephen J. Squeri
- CEO span
- 9
- C-suite
- 6
- Avg tenure
- 4 yr
Stable leadership with limited external hiring.
Named executive officers (1)
- Stephen J. Squeri - Chairman and CEO since 2018
Year-over-year changes
The Vice Chairman role exited, slightly narrowing the CEO’s span and reducing C-suite size.
- CEO span: 9 → 8
- C-suite size: 6 → 5
- Avg tenure: 3.5 → 3 yr
- departed Douglas E. Buckminster - Vice Chairman (was Vice Chairman) (DEF 14A filed 2026-03-25)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of American Express?
Stephen J. Squeri has served as Chairman and CEO since February 2018.
What type of organizational structure does American Express use?
American Express operates a primarily functional structure with major business presidents reporting directly to the CEO.
How many direct reports does American Express's CEO have?
The CEO currently has eight direct reports, including finance, risk and business presidents.
How has American Express's leadership changed recently?
In early 2026 the company added a Global Innovation role and formalized Vice Chairman succession following Douglas Buckminster’s transition.
Does American Express have a COO?
No. American Express is notable among large financial institutions for operating without a Chief Operating Officer.
Sources
- Company Proxy Statement, Mar 2026
- SEC EDGAR: American Express Company DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: American Express Company 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). American Express Company organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-express/MLA 9th
"American Express Company Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-express/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "American Express Company Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-express/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
American Express Company. DEF 14A. Filed 2026-03-25. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4962/000110465926034163/tm2519434-8_def14a.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-express/ · last updated 2026-04-01