Alex Hopwood

Vice President Transformation American Express

Alex Hopwood has been part of the American Express Finance organization for almost 22 years. As newly appointed Vice President, Decision Support Transformation, Alex is responsible for driving the evolution of our technology and processes to support advanced analytical capabilities, machine learning and other tools that will add value to our business.  Prior to his present role, Alex was Vice President and Lead Financial Officer for Global Technology, Prepaid & Alternative Payments, supporting Marc Gordon, CIO of American Express and Stefan Happ, EVP and GM of Prepaid & Alternative Payments. During his five year tenure, Alex drove operating efficiencies for Company reinvestment and supported a multi-year agile transformation, migration to newer infrastructure such as our internal cloud platform and rigorous investment prioritization of Company application development activities.  

From 2009-2013, Alex was Vice President and Lead Financial Officer for American Express OPEN, leading a team to conduct a range of financial management activities, including planning and results analysis, product profitability and investment management.  Alex was the chief financial decision maker and helped OPEN to formulate its growth strategy, lead a significant operational turnaround after the financial crisis, and to consistently meet or exceed shareholder goals. 

Alex has also served as Vice President of Investor Relations for American Express and Vice President of Results within Corporate Planning & Analysis.  Throughout the 2007-2009 credit crisis and recession Alex was a key spokesman to the institutional investor base, educating buy-side investors and sell-side analysts about the long-term strengths of American Express and the actions the Company had taken to manage through.  He also communicated total company financial and metric performance at the Operating Committee level, expanding the range of topics, hosting in-depth monthly financial reviews with finance leadership and sponsoring competitive intelligence activities.  

Alex enjoys reading and travel and is a self-described audiophile who loves all forms of music.  He is devoted to his three sons, Stefan, 18, and Simon, 14, and Charles, 1, and currently lives in Glen Rock, NJ with his partner, Vanessa.  Alex earned his MBA in Finance from the University of San Diego, and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Boston University.