Raymond Joabar was named Chief Risk Officer of American Express and American Express National Bank (AENB), as well as President of Global Risk and Compliance in September 2019. He is a board-elected officer of the company and AENB, and he is a member of the Executive Committee, which develops the company’s strategic direction and determines its key policies.
As Chief Risk Officer, Mr. Joabar is responsible for developing American Express’ and the U.S. Bank’s risk appetite, ensuring safety and soundness, and maintaining their control and compliance environments. He leads the teams that provide independent critical oversight and governance of enterprise risks. As part of these responsibilities, his teams also manage the end-to-end lifecycle of regulatory exams, along with the Global Privacy Program.
Prior to his current role, Mr. Joabar was President of the International Consumer Services and Global Travel & Lifestyle Services group at American Express, leading the acceleration of growth in American Express’ International markets. He also led the company’s global customer servicing, credit and fraud operations, driving the digital transformation of the 28,000-person organization while elevating service quality.
Previously, Mr. Joabar held roles as Senior Vice President and Managing Director, American Express U.K. and Ireland, where he drove a significant increase in profitability, as well as Senior Vice President with American Express OPEN, where he headed product management and partnership development for the leading issuer of cards to U.S. small businesses.
Mr. Joabar joined American Express in 1992 as an analyst in the Risk Management organization where he spent his first eight years in a number of roles overseeing credit and fraud risk in the company’s U.S. consumer and commercial segments. Since then, he has held increasingly senior roles across many key areas of the business in which he led efforts to drive growth, increase profitability and improve the customer experience. He has a passion for large-scale business transformation and is committed to building talent and diversity in the workplace.
Mr. Joabar holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Manchester Business School. He currently serves on the boards of the Lincoln Center Theater and the American Associates of the National Theatre.