PARAMUS, N.J. – American Express CEO and Chairman Kenneth Chenault will serve as the keynote speaker for Bergen Community College’s 45th commencement, which will take place Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m. at the Izod Center in East Rutherford. According to current estimates, the class of 2014 will include more than 2,000 graduates.
Chenault has held the chief executive position at American Express since 2001, when he became the third African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company. In his role as CEO, Chenault provides executive leadership for the $33 billion company, which has $153 billion in total assets and nearly 63,000 employees worldwide. Chenault holds a B.A. in history from Bowdoin College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Chenault will deliver his remarks without requiring an engagement fee.
Dr. John W. Davis of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund delivered the College’s first commencement keynote in 1970. Since then, speakers have included former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley (twice), U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios, two governors and three Bergen County executives.
Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu) based in Paramus is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling nearly 17,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields.
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