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FELLOW SHAREHOLDERS:
When Harvey Golub left McKinsey & Co. in 1984 to
move to Minneapolis and lead what was then Investors Diversified
Services - now American Express Financial Advisors - I'm sure he
never envisioned the dramatic career twists and turns that lay
ahead of him.
In a 15-year period, Harvey has had an
unparalleled impact on American Express' businesses, its
corporate culture, its people and its share value. Whether at
the helm of IDS in the 1980s, Travel Related Services in the
early 1990s, or the parent company over the past eight years, he
has been a dogged champion of the American Express brand.
Further, he harnessed the power of that brand - and American
Express' people - to lead the turnaround of this company.
He has done that with vision and determination.
With his retirement from the American Express Board of Directors
in April 2001, Harvey leaves us with a legacy that will long
outlast his years here. He helped mobilize and motivate a
dispirited group of employees - people who now see themselves as
winners, and who work for a company that is a revitalized force
in the marketplace. He articulated the company's values and made
them more concrete and meaningful to our employees around the
world. And he has entrusted us with a company for which he
clearly - and deeply - cares.
I personally believe that Harvey will be
remembered as one of the best CEOs in American Express' history.
He will be greatly missed, and long remembered, by an
organization that will forever bear his imprint.
Kenneth I. Chenault
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