American Express selected this year’s distinguished list of Pacesetters for their service performance, technical skills and leadership. Awardees embody how American Express trains and engages its tens of thousands of employees worldwide to uniformly deliver on the brand promise: “World-class service. Personal recognition.”

“American Express is committed to further innovating and cultivating its culture of service. Therefore, our counselors are trained to deliver a unique, flawless experience that the customer will appreciate and remember. I am pleased to showcase our Pacesetters – for truly, they are the model for contemporary travel counsel and consultation,” said Priyan Fernando, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, American Express Business Travel and host of Pacesetters 2006.

Even in this digital age, Fernando says the human element still remains central to service delivery. “While some may think individualized, personalized service is an outdated concept, we believe just the opposite; it remains as vital today as it did 150 years ago when we first opened our business.”

The Company hosted Pacesetters in Las Vegas from June 20-23 at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. During the four-day event, featured speakers included American Express heads of Global Corporate Services and Global Travel Services, among other senior client-facing and service delivery leaders, and entailed robust training curricula, networking and best-practice sharing sessions, as well as team-building exercises and entertainment.

This year’s Pacesetters average 9 years of service with the company; nearly 4 out of 10 have been with American Express for more than 10 years. As with all American Express Business Travel counselors, Pacesetters are trained to fulfill 5 core employee-value and service-culture attributes:

• Experience Matters: Bring experience to bear when serving customers
• Everyday Heroes: Make a genuine difference in the customer’s life
• Passionate about People: Connect individually with customers and co-workers – with energy, zeal and focus
• Heart of the Brand: Bring to life the American Express customer service promise
• Build the Business: Earn loyalty and repeat business from every customer experience

“American Express runs a global service operation. With each and every customer contact, wherever it occurs around the world, our counselors must impart the same touch and feel and likewise uphold common service values, including rapport, courtesy, confidence, expertise and accountability,” said Fernando. “Without exception, our counselors must be exceptional. In turn, we must instill a unique cultural ethic throughout our service delivery network, one that inspires and ignites a shared passion for service.”

The annual Pacesetters event is just one way American Express recognizes, engages and trains its business travel counselors. Other notable talent development programs include The Great Call Experience, which helps ensure service consistency, and MILE, a leadership and skill-building program.

The 31 countries represented at Pacesetters 2006 included: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States.

About American Express Business Travel
American Express Business Travel, a division of the American Express Company, is dedicated to helping its clients realize the greatest possible value from their investment in travel through increased cost savings, outstanding customer service and greater spend control.  For small businesses, medium-sized enterprises and multinational corporations, American Express Business Travel provides a combination of industry-leading booking technology, travel management consulting expertise, strategic sourcing and supplier negotiation support and customer service available online and offline, around the world.

American Express operates one of the world’s largest travel agency networks with over 2,200 travel service locations in over 140 countries and territories worldwide.  The Company processed $20.6 billion in global travel sales in 2005.

American Express Company (www.americanexpress.com) is a diversified worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850.  It is a world leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, business services and international banking.

Contacts:
Gregory Papajohn
212.640.3414
Gregory.N.Papajohn@aexp.com