Claire Bennett assumed the role of Senior Vice President and General Manager of the U.S. Consumer Travel Network in July 2009. In this capacity, she leads American Express’ U.S. leisure travel business, which provides premium travel services to American Express Cardmembers and other travel consumers via three distribution channels—a retail travel network of owned and representative travel offices, a network of telephone service centers, and online, at www.americanexpress.com/travel. Her responsibilities also include management of the wholly owned subsidiary Travel Impressions of Farmingdale, New York. Nearly 7,000 travel professionals help customers and Cardmembers plan, book and get the most out of their travel experiences as part of the U.S. Consumer Travel Network, which, together with American Express Business Travel, is the #1 travel agency in the world by volume.
Ms. Bennett has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, general management, and finance. Before joining the Consumer Travel Network, Bennett served as Senior Vice President, Global Advertising and Brand Management at American Express. In that role, she led worldwide marketing programs for American Express, including advertising and media, sponsorships, agency management, and marketplace research. She was responsible for driving marketplace demand for American Express products and services at both the brand and product levels in the United States and across 22 international markets. During her tenure, Bennett’s team created groundbreaking partnerships in the entertainment, sports, and fashion industries to deliver unique, world-class customer experiences for American Express Cardmembers and developed strong creative relationships with the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey, Martin Scorsese, and Diane Von Furstenberg. Ms. Bennett’s team’s work was lauded with 10 ADDY® awards, 3 Effie® awards, and in 2007, a Primetime Emmy® Award.
Prior to joining American Express in 2006, Ms. Bennett led marketing communications for Dell’s $14 billion home and small business division. While at Dell, Bennett significantly improved brand perceptions and overall business results. She was responsible for growing the consumer brand share from #6 to #1 in less than two years, and during her tenure the brand was recognized as one of the top three most respected brands in America. In her seven years at Dell, her responsibilities ran the gamut from managing advertising and marketing programs to delivering on profit and loss commitments and improving the customer experience. Prior to joining Dell, Ms. Bennett held various brand, finance, strategic planning & general management roles at Quaker Oats, now PepsiCo.
Ms. Bennett sits on the boards of Travel Impressions, the Association of National Advertisers, and Public Allies. She also serves on the Starwood Advisory Board and was recently selected to be on the Executive Committee of the Advertising Women of New York. A certified CPA, she holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana University and an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Ms. Bennett lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.