Top Line
Kenneth Chenault, the former chairman and CEO of American Express, praised Vice President Kamala Harris as “pro-business and pro-worker” at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. He was the only corporate executive in attendance on Tuesday.
Ken Chenault spoke onstage at the 2024 TIME100 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 24. [+] New York City in 2024. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)
Getty Images TIME
Key Facts
Chenault said Harris “understands that government needs to work in partnership with the business community,” and that “unlike my opponent,” she “opposes broad-based tariffs that would only raise prices, hurt consumers and businesses, and destroy jobs,” referring to former President Donald Trump’s proposal to impose a 10% tariff on all goods from every country.
He also compared Trump’s and Harris’ tax policies, saying Harris “is a [build an advanced economy] “Instead of giving tax cuts to people like me, that money should be invested in expanding the middle class.”
Chenault served as chairman and CEO of American Express for 17 years and is one of only 19 Black chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies, according to The Washington Post. He currently serves as chairman and managing director of venture capital firm General Catalyst and chairman of Built Rewards, a fintech company for home and apartment renters.
He also serves on the boards of directors of several companies, including Airbnb, Berkshire Hathaway and the Harvard Corporation, as well as a number of non-profit organizations, including the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History and Culture and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Chenault served on former President Barack Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and attended a White House meeting in October with President Joe Biden and other corporate executives to discuss consumer action.
Chenault, along with former Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, led a campaign to block restrictive voting bills in Georgia that critics said could impede voting access for minorities, including a new identification requirement. He successfully brought top companies onto the cause.
Chenault has openly criticized efforts to reject the results of the 2020 election, calling the move “unbelievable” and lamenting “serious questions about threats to our democracy” at the Forbes Future of Work Summit in 2022.
Important Quotes
“She’s on the side of all Americans,” Chennault said of Harris. “She understands that a president can and should stand for both business and workers.”
tangent
The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that Chenault resigned from Facebook’s board in 2020 due to disagreements with the company over governance and political policy. The paper cited sources who said Chenault was frustrated with the company’s lack of involvement in elections. His resignation came shortly after Facebook announced it would not fact-check political ads. In a statement to the paper, Chenault said he was leaving to join Berkshire Hathaway’s board and wished CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the company’s management team well. Zuckerberg also publicly thanked Chenault upon his resignation.
Main Background
Chenault will speak before former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama, who will deliver keynote addresses to conclude the second day of the convention. The four-day event kicked off in Chicago on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on Thursday with Vice President Kamala Harris’ speech accepting her party’s nomination.
Show more
Trump vs. Harris 2024 Poll: Harris leads by 4 points as Democratic National Convention begins (Forbes)
Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention: Biden delivers moving closing speech after Hillary Clinton and Harris praise his “historic leadership” (Forbes)
Democrats approve party platform written before Harris became candidate (Forbes)