American Express vs Brex: Founders, CEOs and History

American Express was founded in 1850 by Henry Wells, William Fargo, John Warren Butterfield and is led by Stephen Squeri. Brex was founded in 2017 by Pedro Franceschi, Henrique Dubugras and is led by Pedro Franceschi.

Company facts

American Express

Founded: 1850
Headquarters: New York, New York
Current CEO: Stephen Squeri
Employees: 76,800

Brex

Founded: 2017
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Current CEO: Pedro Franceschi
Employees: 1,100

Founders

American Express

Henry Wells
The founding of American Express is a fascinating story of intense 19th-century corporate rivalry culminating in a monopolistic merger.
William Fargo
William Fargo co-founded American Express in 1850 alongside Henry Wells and John Butterfield, bringing operational discipline and route management expertise to the merger of competing express businesses.
John Warren Butterfield
John Warren Butterfield was one of the three founders of American Express in 1850 and served as a director, bringing the organizational resources, political connections and financial backing that made the merger viable.

American Express founders in full

Brex

Pedro Franceschi
Franceschi enrolled at Stanford in 2016 and left with Dubugras for Y Combinator's Winter 2017 batch, where the pair dropped a virtual reality idea three weeks in and started Brex.
Henrique Dubugras
Dubugras enrolled at Stanford in 2016 and left for Y Combinator in early 2017, co-founding Brex that January.

Brex founders in full

CEOs and their tenures

American Express

Howard L. Clark Sr.1960–1977
President and Chief Executive Officer
Howard Clark became chief executive in 1960 and ran American Express until 1977. He inherited a charge card business that was losing money two years after launch and pushed it to profitability by repositioning it as a premium product, raising the merchant disc…
Source
James D. Robinson III1977–1993
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
James Robinson III presided over American Express during a period of both genuine growth and serious strategic overreach.
Source
Harvey Golub1993–2001
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Harvey Golub inherited a company left unfocused and financially weaker by James Robinson III's financial conglomerate strategy.
Source
Kenneth Chenault2001–2018
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Kenneth Chenault led American Express for 17 years through two severe shocks: the September 11 attacks in 2001, which hit its lower Manhattan operations and its travel-dependent business weeks after he became chief executive, and the 2008 financial crisis, dur…
Source
Stephen J. Squeri2018–present
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Squeri took over from Kenneth Chenault in February 2018 and has run the most financially productive period in the company's history, with FY2025 total revenues net of interest expense of $72.2 billion and net income of $10.8 billion, both records.
Source

American Express CEO history in full

Brex

Pedro Franceschi2017–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Co-CEO from January 2017, running product, engineering and internal operations, and sole CEO since June 12, 2024.
Source
Henrique Dubugras2017–2024
Co-Founder; Co-CEO 2017 to 2024, then Chairman
External co-CEO responsible for fundraising, banking partners, regulators and selling to the largest customers. Raised the rounds that took Brex to a $12.3 billion valuation in 2021, and became chairman of the board when the co-CEO model ended in June 2024.
Source
Ben Gammell2018–present
Chief Financial Officer and President
Joined in early 2018 as VP of operations and served as chief of staff to the CEO before becoming CFO. Also oversees legal, business development, systems and data, and was named as part of the leadership team staying on under Capital One.
Source

Brex CEO history in full

Timeline: American Express and Brex side by side

1850American Express
American Express founded in Buffalo, New York
Henry Wells, William Fargo and John Butterfield merged three competing express businesses on March 18, 1850 to form the American Express Company, an unincorporated joint-stock association capitalized at 150,000 dollars.
1882American Express
Money order launched
American Express introduced its own money order, competing directly with the postal money order the United States Post Office had offered since 1864.
1891American Express
Traveler's cheque invented
Marcellus Berry created the American Express Traveler's Cheque after president J.C. Fargo struggled to cash letters of credit on a European trip in 1890.
1917American Express
Federal control of the express industry
Federal control of the railroads began in December 1917, and in 1918 the domestic express operations of American Express and its rivals were consolidated into the American Railway Express Company.
1958American Express
First American Express charge card
American Express issued its first charge card on October 1, 1958, printed on paper with a 6 dollar annual fee, after signing up more than 250,000 card members before launch.
1966American Express
Gold Card introduced
American Express launched the Gold Card in 1966 for higher-spending executives and frequent travelers, the first tier above the standard card and the start of the graded premium lineup that later added the Platinum Card and the Centurion Card.
1984American Express
Platinum Card launched during the financial supermarket build-out
American Express introduced The Platinum Card by invitation in 1984 with a 250 dollar annual fee, creating the ultra-premium card category.
1993American Express
Harvey Golub refocuses the company
Harvey Golub became chief executive in 1993 and unwound the conglomerate: the Shearson brokerage went to Primerica's Smith Barney and The Boston Company to Mellon Bank in 1993, and Lehman Brothers was spun off in 1994.
1999American Express
Centurion Card launched
American Express created the Centurion Card in 1999, an invitation-only metal card that became the top tier of its lineup. The company has never published its fee schedule, and the product functions mainly as a positioning device for the cards below it.
2001American Express
Kenneth Chenault becomes chief executive
Kenneth Chenault became chief executive in January 2001, weeks before the September 11 attacks damaged the company's lower Manhattan operations and cut travel spending sharply.
2008American Express
Conversion to a bank holding company
On November 10, 2008 the Federal Reserve Board approved applications by American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services to become bank holding companies, on conversion of American Express Centurion Bank from an industrial loan company int…
2016American Express
Costco co-brand ends
Costco moved its United States co-branded card to Citigroup and Visa on June 20, 2016, ending a 16-year exclusive relationship after the two sides failed to agree terms, and stopped accepting American Express cards in its warehouses.
2017Brex
Founded during Y Combinator
Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi founded Brex on January 3, 2017, after dropping a virtual reality idea three weeks into Y Combinator's Winter 2017 batch. Ribbit Capital led a $7 million first round.
2018American Express
Stephen Squeri becomes chairman and chief executive
Stephen Squeri succeeded Kenneth Chenault in February 2018 after more than three decades inside the company, including spells as chief information officer and group president of Global Corporate Services.
2018Brex
Launch, $50M Series B and $1.1B valuation
Brex raised a $50 million Series B in June 2018 from Y Combinator Continuity, Ribbit Capital, Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, passed 1,000 customers by August and reached a $1.1 billion valuation with a $125 million Series C in October.
2019Brex
$2.6B valuation led by Kleiner Perkins
A $100 million Series C-2 led by Kleiner Perkins in June 2019 valued Brex at $2.6 billion. Brex also launched Brex Cash, now the Brex Business Account, that year.
2020American Express
Pandemic hits travel and entertainment spending
COVID-19 restrictions cut the travel and entertainment spending American Express depends on, and total revenues net of interest expense fell from 43.6 billion dollars in 2019 to 36.1 billion dollars in 2020, with net income down to 3.1 billion dollars.
2020Brex
Three acqui-hires and a $150M extension
Brex bought Neji, Compose Labs and Landria in March 2020, adding 12 people, and raised a $150 million Series C extension in May as a cushion against a long recession.
2021Brex
Bank charter bid, Weav deal and $12.3B valuation
Brex applied for a Utah industrial bank charter in February and withdrew it in August, raised $425 million at $7.4 billion in April, bought Weav for $50 million in August, went headquarterless, and agreed a $300 million round at $12.3 billion in October.
2022Brex
Empower launch, Pry deal and small business exit
Brex launched Brex Empower in April with DoorDash as a customer, bought Pry Financials for $90 million, left the small business market in June and laid off 136 people in October.
2023Brex
Silicon Valley Bank deposits
Brex took in billions of dollars of deposits from Silicon Valley Bank customers on March 9, 2023, the day before the bank collapsed.
2024American Express
Tock acquisition widens the dining platform
American Express agreed in June 2024 to buy Tock, a reservation, table and event management platform, from Squarespace for 400 million dollars in cash, pairing it with Resy, which it had bought in 2019.
2024Brex
20% layoff and end of the co-CEO model
Brex cut 282 jobs on January 23, 2024, ranked fourth on CNBC's Disruptor 50 list in May, and on June 12 made Franceschi sole CEO, with Dubugras becoming chairman.
2025American Express
Platinum refresh and record FY2025 results
American Express unveiled refreshed United States Consumer and Business Platinum Cards on September 18, 2025, raising the annual fee from 695 dollars to 895 dollars and adding statement credits it values at over 3,500 dollars a year.
2025Brex
Enterprise growth, EU licence and return to San Francisco
Brex said enterprise revenue grew 80% in 2024, won an EU payment institution licence in August 2025, leased about 100,000 square feet in San Francisco, and turned operating-cash-flow positive in October, according to Sacra.
2026Brex
Acquired by Capital One for $5.15B
Capital One announced the cash-and-stock acquisition on January 22, 2026, and completed it on April 7. Pedro Franceschi stayed on as CEO.

Acquisitions

American Express

Center2025Undisclosed
Tock2024$400M
Kabbage2020Undisclosed
Resy2019Undisclosed
Loyalty Partner2011$660M
Thomas Cook corporate travel and United States travel offices1994$375M

All American Express acquisitions

Brex

Brex Inc. (acquired by Capital One)2026$5.2B
Pry Financials2022$90M
Weav2021$50M
Neji, Compose Labs and Landria2020Undisclosed

All Brex acquisitions

Questions about American Express vs Brex

Who is the CEO of American Express Company and Brex Inc.?

American Express Company is led by Stephen Squeri and Brex Inc. is led by Pedro Franceschi. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.

When was American Express Company founded vs Brex Inc.?

American Express Company was founded in 1850 — 167 years before Brex Inc., which was founded in 2017. American Express Company's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Brex Inc..

How many employees does American Express Company have compared to Brex Inc.?

American Express Company employs approximately 76,800 people, while Brex Inc. employs approximately 1,100. American Express Company has the larger workforce at 76,800 employees, compared to Brex Inc.'s 1,100. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).

Where are American Express Company and Brex Inc. headquartered?

Both American Express Company and Brex Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.

Who founded American Express Company and Brex Inc.?

American Express Company was founded by Henry Wells, William Fargo, John Warren Butterfield. Brex Inc. was founded by Pedro Franceschi, Henrique Dubugras.

Which company has a longer operating history — American Express Company or Brex Inc.?

American Express Company has been operating for approximately 176 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Brex Inc. has been in operation for around 9 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.

Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the American Express vs Brex overview

Founders

American Express

Henry Wells
The founding of American Express is a fascinating story of intense 19th-century corporate rivalry culminating in a monopolistic merger.
William Fargo
William Fargo co-founded American Express in 1850 alongside Henry Wells and John Butterfield, bringing operational discipline and route management expertise to the merger of competing express businesses.
John Warren Butterfield
John Warren Butterfield was one of the three founders of American Express in 1850 and served as a director, bringing the organizational resources, political connections and financial backing that made the merger viable.

American Express founders in full

Brex

Pedro Franceschi
Franceschi enrolled at Stanford in 2016 and left with Dubugras for Y Combinator's Winter 2017 batch, where the pair dropped a virtual reality idea three weeks in and started Brex.
Henrique Dubugras
Dubugras enrolled at Stanford in 2016 and left for Y Combinator in early 2017, co-founding Brex that January.

Brex founders in full

CEOs and their tenures

American Express

Howard L. Clark Sr.1960–1977
President and Chief Executive Officer
Howard Clark became chief executive in 1960 and ran American Express until 1977. He inherited a charge card business that was losing money two years after launch and pushed it to profitability by repositioning it as a premium product, raising the merchant disc…
Source
James D. Robinson III1977–1993
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
James Robinson III presided over American Express during a period of both genuine growth and serious strategic overreach.
Source
Harvey Golub1993–2001
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Harvey Golub inherited a company left unfocused and financially weaker by James Robinson III's financial conglomerate strategy.
Source
Kenneth Chenault2001–2018
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Kenneth Chenault led American Express for 17 years through two severe shocks: the September 11 attacks in 2001, which hit its lower Manhattan operations and its travel-dependent business weeks after he became chief executive, and the 2008 financial crisis, dur…
Source
Stephen J. Squeri2018–present
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Squeri took over from Kenneth Chenault in February 2018 and has run the most financially productive period in the company's history, with FY2025 total revenues net of interest expense of $72.2 billion and net income of $10.8 billion, both records.
Source

American Express CEO history in full

Brex

Pedro Franceschi2017–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Co-CEO from January 2017, running product, engineering and internal operations, and sole CEO since June 12, 2024.
Source
Henrique Dubugras2017–2024
Co-Founder; Co-CEO 2017 to 2024, then Chairman
External co-CEO responsible for fundraising, banking partners, regulators and selling to the largest customers. Raised the rounds that took Brex to a $12.3 billion valuation in 2021, and became chairman of the board when the co-CEO model ended in June 2024.
Source
Ben Gammell2018–present
Chief Financial Officer and President
Joined in early 2018 as VP of operations and served as chief of staff to the CEO before becoming CFO. Also oversees legal, business development, systems and data, and was named as part of the leadership team staying on under Capital One.
Source

Brex CEO history in full

Timeline: American Express and Brex side by side

1850American Express

American Express founded in Buffalo, New York

Henry Wells, William Fargo and John Butterfield merged three competing express businesses on March 18, 1850 to form the American Express Company, an unincorporated joint-stock association capitalized at 150,000 dollars.

1882American Express

Money order launched

American Express introduced its own money order, competing directly with the postal money order the United States Post Office had offered since 1864.

1891American Express

Traveler's cheque invented

Marcellus Berry created the American Express Traveler's Cheque after president J.C. Fargo struggled to cash letters of credit on a European trip in 1890.

1917American Express

Federal control of the express industry

Federal control of the railroads began in December 1917, and in 1918 the domestic express operations of American Express and its rivals were consolidated into the American Railway Express Company.

1958American Express

First American Express charge card

American Express issued its first charge card on October 1, 1958, printed on paper with a 6 dollar annual fee, after signing up more than 250,000 card members before launch.

1966American Express

Gold Card introduced

American Express launched the Gold Card in 1966 for higher-spending executives and frequent travelers, the first tier above the standard card and the start of the graded premium lineup that later added the Platinum Card and the Centurion Card.

1984American Express

Platinum Card launched during the financial supermarket build-out

American Express introduced The Platinum Card by invitation in 1984 with a 250 dollar annual fee, creating the ultra-premium card category.

1993American Express

Harvey Golub refocuses the company

Harvey Golub became chief executive in 1993 and unwound the conglomerate: the Shearson brokerage went to Primerica's Smith Barney and The Boston Company to Mellon Bank in 1993, and Lehman Brothers was spun off in 1994.

1999American Express

Centurion Card launched

American Express created the Centurion Card in 1999, an invitation-only metal card that became the top tier of its lineup. The company has never published its fee schedule, and the product functions mainly as a positioning device for the cards below it.

2001American Express

Kenneth Chenault becomes chief executive

Kenneth Chenault became chief executive in January 2001, weeks before the September 11 attacks damaged the company's lower Manhattan operations and cut travel spending sharply.

2008American Express

Conversion to a bank holding company

On November 10, 2008 the Federal Reserve Board approved applications by American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services to become bank holding companies, on conversion of American Express Centurion Bank from an industrial loan company int…

2016American Express

Costco co-brand ends

Costco moved its United States co-branded card to Citigroup and Visa on June 20, 2016, ending a 16-year exclusive relationship after the two sides failed to agree terms, and stopped accepting American Express cards in its warehouses.

2017Brex

Founded during Y Combinator

Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi founded Brex on January 3, 2017, after dropping a virtual reality idea three weeks into Y Combinator's Winter 2017 batch. Ribbit Capital led a $7 million first round.

2018American Express

Stephen Squeri becomes chairman and chief executive

Stephen Squeri succeeded Kenneth Chenault in February 2018 after more than three decades inside the company, including spells as chief information officer and group president of Global Corporate Services.

2018Brex

Launch, $50M Series B and $1.1B valuation

Brex raised a $50 million Series B in June 2018 from Y Combinator Continuity, Ribbit Capital, Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, passed 1,000 customers by August and reached a $1.1 billion valuation with a $125 million Series C in October.

2019Brex

$2.6B valuation led by Kleiner Perkins

A $100 million Series C-2 led by Kleiner Perkins in June 2019 valued Brex at $2.6 billion. Brex also launched Brex Cash, now the Brex Business Account, that year.

2020American Express

Pandemic hits travel and entertainment spending

COVID-19 restrictions cut the travel and entertainment spending American Express depends on, and total revenues net of interest expense fell from 43.6 billion dollars in 2019 to 36.1 billion dollars in 2020, with net income down to 3.1 billion dollars.

2020Brex

Three acqui-hires and a $150M extension

Brex bought Neji, Compose Labs and Landria in March 2020, adding 12 people, and raised a $150 million Series C extension in May as a cushion against a long recession.

2021Brex

Bank charter bid, Weav deal and $12.3B valuation

Brex applied for a Utah industrial bank charter in February and withdrew it in August, raised $425 million at $7.4 billion in April, bought Weav for $50 million in August, went headquarterless, and agreed a $300 million round at $12.3 billion in October.

2022Brex

Empower launch, Pry deal and small business exit

Brex launched Brex Empower in April with DoorDash as a customer, bought Pry Financials for $90 million, left the small business market in June and laid off 136 people in October.

2023Brex

Silicon Valley Bank deposits

Brex took in billions of dollars of deposits from Silicon Valley Bank customers on March 9, 2023, the day before the bank collapsed.

2024American Express

Tock acquisition widens the dining platform

American Express agreed in June 2024 to buy Tock, a reservation, table and event management platform, from Squarespace for 400 million dollars in cash, pairing it with Resy, which it had bought in 2019.

2024Brex

20% layoff and end of the co-CEO model

Brex cut 282 jobs on January 23, 2024, ranked fourth on CNBC's Disruptor 50 list in May, and on June 12 made Franceschi sole CEO, with Dubugras becoming chairman.

2025American Express

Platinum refresh and record FY2025 results

American Express unveiled refreshed United States Consumer and Business Platinum Cards on September 18, 2025, raising the annual fee from 695 dollars to 895 dollars and adding statement credits it values at over 3,500 dollars a year.

2025Brex

Enterprise growth, EU licence and return to San Francisco

Brex said enterprise revenue grew 80% in 2024, won an EU payment institution licence in August 2025, leased about 100,000 square feet in San Francisco, and turned operating-cash-flow positive in October, according to Sacra.

2026Brex

Acquired by Capital One for $5.15B

Capital One announced the cash-and-stock acquisition on January 22, 2026, and completed it on April 7. Pedro Franceschi stayed on as CEO.

Acquisitions

American Express

Center2025Undisclosed
Tock2024$400M
Kabbage2020Undisclosed
Resy2019Undisclosed
Loyalty Partner2011$660M
Thomas Cook corporate travel and United States travel offices1994$375M

All American Express acquisitions

Brex

Brex Inc. (acquired by Capital One)2026$5.2B
Pry Financials2022$90M
Weav2021$50M
Neji, Compose Labs and Landria2020Undisclosed

All Brex acquisitions

Questions about American Express vs Brex

Who is the CEO of American Express Company and Brex Inc.?

When was American Express Company founded vs Brex Inc.?

How many employees does American Express Company have compared to Brex Inc.?

Where are American Express Company and Brex Inc. headquartered?

Both American Express Company and Brex Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.

Who founded American Express Company and Brex Inc.?

American Express Company was founded by Henry Wells, William Fargo, John Warren Butterfield. Brex Inc. was founded by Pedro Franceschi, Henrique Dubugras.