Papone to Retire from American Express

Aldo Papone, chairman of American Express Travel Related Services Co., a unit of American Express Co., will retire Jan. 1.

Papone will be succeeded by two co-chairmen, Edwin M. Cooperman, president of the unit’s North American division, and G. Richard Thoman, president of American Express International, the company said. The two men also will serve as co-chief executives of the unit.

Papone, who has held his post since April, 1989, will become a senior adviser to American Express Co., reporting to Chairman James D. Robinson III. Papone also will continue as a director of the parent company.

“This completes a management evolution that began almost 18 months ago when Aldo advised me that he would need to be less active in TRS (Travel Related Services) management activities for medical reasons,” Robinson said in a statement.

Cooperman, an 18-year American Express veteran, is credited with increasing the growth of the American Express card. Thoman, an American Express executive since 1979, is in charge of the company’s traveler’s check business and its travel services operations outside North America, among other duties.