Leslie Berland (Chair)

Executive Vice President, Digital Partnerships and Development, American Express

Leslie Berland is Executive Vice President, Digital Partnerships and Development at American Express. Berland, who has been with American Express since 2005, leads a global team responsible for digital and social media strategy, business development, product development, digital marketing and customer experience. In this role, Berland

is helping guide the company’s digital transformation by launching innovative commerce-driving products and services on powerful digital and social platforms, globally.

Under Berland’s leadership, American Express has forged relationships and created first-ever digital experiences with a robust set of partners including, but not limited to,

Apple, Uber, TripAdvisor, VeriFone, Twitter, Samsung, Foursquare, Facebook and Microsoft. The experiences her team builds and tailors to each platform are rooted in strategies that drive business objectives – engaging card members, prospects and merchants. As a result, American Express is at the forefront of digital innovation in both the financial services and technology industries.

A two-time recipient of the American Express Chairman’s Award for Innovation, Berland also provides strategic guidance to the American Express executive team and is a trusted advisor to numerous corporate partners of American Express on their social media and digital endeavors. In May 2012, Berland was named sixth in Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” issue for helping Amex to bring new meaning to the phrase “social currency.” She has also been included in the Advertising Age “Creativity 50” list and has been named a “Brand Genius” by Adweek.

Prior to American Express, Berland led PR and online communications strategies for global brands on the agency side. Berland resides in Manhattan with her husband and two sons, and received a BS from Boston University’s College of Communications.