American Express CEO Addresses HBS Grads

Nine hundred bright-eyed Harvard Business School (HBS) graduates of the Class of 2007 blanketed the lawn in front of Baker Library yesterday as American Express Company Chairman and CEO Kenneth I. Chenault took the stage, exhorting them to maintain a moral compass as they work to become leaders in the business world.

A Harvard Law School graduate, Chenault—well known for the leadership he exhibited in 2001 when the American Express tower was damaged by debris from the collapsing World Trade Center—was selected by the four members of the Student Class Day Committee to address the graduates, alumni, and family members on hand.

Adding to the sunny disposition of the warm June day, he challenged his audience to use their positions to effect positive change throughout society.

“You’re ready to go out into the world,” he said, “not just to be successful in your chosen fields, but to be leaders in business and in your communities,” he said.

In a rhythmic plea, Chenault encouraged the graduates to begin rebuilding the tarnished reputation of business, identifying this task as the “overarching challenge” of the coming years.

“You can be the generation that takes us beyond defending business, beyond deflecting assaults on our integrity, beyond treating the self-inflicted wounds of the past several years,” he said. “You can be the generation that makes great things happen, that makes businesses and the people who lead them highly revered, highly trusted forces for good in the world.”

Feeding off what he called the “excitement, energy, and enthusiasm” of the crowd, as Chenault put it in a post-speech interview, he tried to broaden his audience’s horizons.

“What I try to do is focus on some issues that will stretch people in their thinking,” he said. “Particularly for someone graduating, it is important to understand the responsibilities and accountabilities that they have to the society.”

Central to his argument was a call for strong ethics.

“To me, integrity is the single most important quality you need as a leader,” he said onstage. “Integrity means more than telling the truth. That’s just the bare minimum. To me, integrity means never putting your goals ahead of your values.”

The American Express CEO reminded his audience of soon-to-be alums that the key to leadership is “followership.”

Businesses have a responsibility to serve the public, according to Chenault. As powerful financial actors, they must “conserve, renew, and enhance society’s resources, not just consume them.”

“Society allows us to operate in ways that enable us to deliver good returns to our shareholders. In exchange, we have an obligation to do things the right way, to be helpful to society, and to avoid actions that are harmful,” he said.

“Anyone can serve,” Chenault added. “But some, I would say, have an even greater obligation than others.”

American Express offers community service programs for its employees, 21,000 of whom volunteered a combined 100,000 hours of their time last year through this system. Yet even when these opportunities are not available, Chenault said, it becomes the responsibility of a leader to seek them out.

“If you demand new chances to serve, companies will give them to you,” Chenault said. “And if they don’t, I hope you’ll create opportunities for yourself. And, when you’re in charge, provide others with that chance.”

The preparation for this kind of leadership is the centerpiece of the HBS education he said. “For decades, Cambridge has supplied Wall Street, Main Street and Silicon Valley, London, Hong Kong, and Mumbai with a steady stream of leaders,” he said. “They achieved greatness not because their Harvard degrees entitled them to it, but because of their creativity, their determination, and their strong sense of accountability.”

He praised the quality of a Harvard education—saying that “in many ways, the best reason for hope is sitting right here”—but told the crowd that they must remember to show employees “that what’s important to them is important to you” in order to inspire true loyalty.

Class of 2007 HBS graduate Ethan R. McCusker said he was surprised by the service-oriented tone of the speech. He added that Chenault’s law degree showed that “there are many different paths to a successful career.”

Fellow classmate William D. Kunz also lauded the speech. “It hit the important things, focus on reality and give hope,” he said.

And Kunz added that the day dramatized the daunting task of taking on the role of HBS alumnus.

“It is really scary to deal with all the expectations of you,” he said.

—Staff writer Noah S. Bloom can be reached at nsbloom@fas.harvard.edu.