Lankan gets top posting at American Express

New York-based American Express, the multi-billion dollar international financial services company, has promoted Sri Lanka-born Priyan Fernando as president and chief operating officer of the company’s Global Business Travel.

Mr. Fernando, who was previously a chief financial officer in corporate services businesses with American Express, will be responsible, in his new role, for about 20,000 employees across 140 countries.

American Express, one of the world's largest travel management companies, reported travel sales of US$24.6 billion in 2007. In his career with American Express, Mr. Fernando has led many transformative initiatives for the company in finance and business.

Mr. Fernando is a chartered accountant and a chartered management accountant, and has a master’s in business administration. He is currently based in New York City.