American Express vs Burlington: Founders, CEOs and History
American Express was founded in 1850 by Henry Wells, William Fargo, John Warren Butterfield and is led by Stephen Squeri. Burlington was founded in 1972 by Monroe Milstein and is led by Michael O'Sullivan.
Company facts
American Express
- Founded
- 1850
- Headquarters
- New York, New York
- Current CEO
- Stephen Squeri
- Employees
- 76,800
Burlington
- Founded
- 1972
- Headquarters
- Burlington, New Jersey
- Current CEO
- Michael O'Sullivan
- Employees
- 83,309
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.
Burlington
Monroe Milstein
Monroe G. Milstein grew up in his family's wholesale outerwear business in New York.
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
Burlington
- Monroe Milstein1972–2006
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Milstein opened the first Burlington Coat Factory in Burlington, New Jersey, in 1972, broadened it from discount coats into year-round family apparel, shoes, baby and home goods, and took it public in 1983.
Source - Mark Nesci2006–2008
Chief Executive Officer
A 37-year Burlington veteran, Nesci became CEO in 2006 after Bain Capital took the company private for about $2.06 billion. He retired in December 2008, remaining an equity investor and senior adviser to the board.
Source - Tom Kingsbury2008–2019
President and Chief Executive Officer
A former Kohl's senior executive, Kingsbury was hired by Bain Capital in December 2008 to revamp buying, inventory management and the supply chain.
Source - Michael O'Sullivan2019–present
Chief Executive Officer
O'Sullivan joined from Ross Stores, where he spent 16 years and finished as president and COO, and became CEO around September 16, 2019.
Source
Timeline: American Express and Burlington 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.
1972Burlington
Burlington Coat Factory opens
Monroe Milstein bought a coat outlet in a former factory building in Burlington, New Jersey, and sold brand-name coats at discount prices, the start of Burlington Coat Factory.
1983Burlington
First public offering
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation went public for the first time, funding expansion from a regional discounter into a national chain with year-round apparel, shoes, baby and home departments.
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.
1989Burlington
Cohoes Specialty Stores acquired
Burlington bought the Cohoes Specialty Stores off-price chain from upstate New York, including a 50 percent stake in the Cohoes Commons building; a few stores still traded as Cohoes Fashions decades later.
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.
2006Burlington
Bain Capital takes Burlington private
Bain Capital acquired Burlington Coat Factory for about $2.06 billion, ending 34 years of Milstein family control. Long-time executive Mark Nesci became chief executive.
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…
2008Burlington
Tom Kingsbury named CEO
Former Kohl's executive Thomas Kingsbury became president and CEO in December 2008, succeeding Mark Nesci, and began overhauling buying, inventory management and the supply chain.
2013Burlington
Return to the stock market
Burlington Stores priced its IPO on October 2, 2013, selling 13.3 million shares at $17 each for about $226 million, and listed under the ticker BURL.
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.
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.
2019Burlington
Michael O'Sullivan becomes CEO
Former Ross Stores president and COO Michael O'Sullivan succeeded Tom Kingsbury as CEO around September 16, 2019, and later launched the Burlington 2.0 plan of leaner inventories and smaller stores.
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.
2020Burlington
Online sales end and stores close for the pandemic
On March 5, 2020, Burlington said it would shut its e-commerce business. Days later pandemic lockdowns closed its stores, and fiscal 2020 revenue fell to $5.76 billion with a $216.5 million net loss.
2023Burlington
Bed Bath & Beyond leases
Burlington won 44 Bed Bath & Beyond leases for $12 million at the June 2023 bankruptcy auction, the largest share of the 109 sold, and later reported 62 former Bed Bath & Beyond leases in total.
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.
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.
2025Burlington
Joann leases
After Joann's second bankruptcy, Burlington agreed in April 2025 to take over 45 Joann store leases, many of which became part of its fiscal 2026 opening program.
2026Burlington
Record fiscal 2025 results
Burlington reported fiscal 2025 total revenue of $11.57 billion and net income of $610.2 million, and ended the year on January 31, 2026, with 1,212 stores.
2026Burlington
Tariff refunds put into prices
In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, sales rose 11 percent to $2.998 billion. Burlington received $55 million in tariff refunds and said it would reinvest them in lower prices; the store count reached 1,287.
2026Burlington
Headquarters move to Philadelphia announced
On September 3, 2026, Burlington said it will invest $370 million to move its headquarters from Burlington Township, New Jersey, to Schuylkill Yards in Philadelphia, in phases from late 2028 or early 2029.
Acquisitions
American Express
- Center2025Undisclosed
- Tock2024$400M
- Kabbage2020Undisclosed
- Resy2019Undisclosed
- Loyalty Partner2011$660M
- Thomas Cook corporate travel and United States travel offices1994$375M
Burlington
- Joann store leases2025Undisclosed
- Bed Bath & Beyond store leases2023$12M
- Burlington Coat Factory (taken private by Bain Capital)2006$2.1B
- Cohoes Specialty Stores (Cohoes Fashions)1989Undisclosed
Questions about American Express vs Burlington
Who is the CEO of American Express Company and Burlington Stores, Inc.?
American Express Company is led by Stephen Squeri and Burlington Stores, Inc. is led by Michael O'Sullivan. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was American Express Company founded vs Burlington Stores, Inc.?
American Express Company was founded in 1850 — 122 years before Burlington Stores, Inc., which was founded in 1972. American Express Company's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Burlington Stores, Inc..
How many employees does American Express Company have compared to Burlington Stores, Inc.?
American Express Company employs approximately 76,800 people, while Burlington Stores, Inc. employs approximately 83,309. Burlington Stores, Inc. has the larger workforce at 83,309 employees, compared to American Express Company's 76,800. 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 Burlington Stores, Inc. headquartered?
Both American Express Company and Burlington Stores, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded American Express Company and Burlington Stores, Inc.?
American Express Company was founded by Henry Wells, William Fargo, John Warren Butterfield. Burlington Stores, Inc. was founded by Monroe Milstein.
Which company has a longer operating history — American Express Company or Burlington Stores, Inc.?
American Express Company has been operating for approximately 176 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Burlington Stores, Inc. has been in operation for around 54 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 Burlington overview