Ash Gupta

As Chief Risk Officer for American Express, Ash Gupta promotes strong capabilities and disciplined, integrated risk controls – across all risk types, geographies and businesses – to ensure that the company is both financially successful and highly respected in any economic environment. In turn, this has allowed American Express to steadily become stronger as a bank holding company. �As head of Information Management, Mr. Gupta also ensures that capabilities, especially closed loop and big data, are designed and leveraged responsibly to enable company-wide innovation in customer value, commerce, service and risk management.Over the last two decades, Mr. Gupta has been instrumental in building forward-looking risk evaluation, control and monitoring capabilities that have contributed to American Express’ industry-low credit and fraud write-off rates, strong liquidity, and market risk controls while maintaining a focus on customers. He has promoted simplification and globalization of core processes for effective compliance and operational risk controls. Under Mr. Gupta’s leadership, American Express has been one of the early users of big data and open source platforms within the financial services industry.Mr. Gupta reports to the company’s Chairman and CEO, Kenneth Chenault.� He works closely with the company’s Board of Directors, with special focus on the Risk Committee, Audit & Compliance Committee, and Compensation & Benefits Committee.Mr. Gupta has served the company across his entire professional career holding broad leadership positions within Risk Management, Information Management, US Banking, Finance, and Strategic Planning. Through this experience, he has developed an informed understanding and appreciation for opportunities and challenges within and across all businesses, including charge, credit card, prepaid, merchant, network, and travel businesses. He remains a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion.Mr. Gupta earned an MBA from Columbia University (1977) and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi (1974).� Currently, he serves on the boards of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG), Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York, and South Asian Youth Action (Advisory Board), and is involved with organizations focused on education and the arts.�Previously he served as a board member and chair of Audit Committee for Symphony Teleca Corporation (sold in April to Harman International). He enjoys magic, bridge, hiking and traveling.He lives in New York City with his wife, Anita and has two grown sons.