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By Alfred Edmond, Jr. | Published August 8, 2010 | Full size is 500 × 320 pixels

When Kenneth I. Chenault assumed the role of president of American Express Co.’s Consumer Card Group , controlling all of its U.S. card products, BLACK ENTERPRISE wrote in March 1990 that he was “a polished, articulate mixture of savvy marketer, corporate insider and entrepreneurial visionary: the stuff of which CEOs of the 21st Century are made.” At the time, the 38-year-old Harvard-trained lawyer was one of a handful of African Americans with the credentials and potential to run one of the nation’s 500 largest publicly-traded corporations. Twelve years later, he would take the helm of the financial services giant and represent the highest standard of corporate leadership.

When Kenneth I. Chenault assumed the role of president of American Express Co.’s …