Ed Gilligan, AmEx President, Dies at 55 on Trip From Tokyo

Ed Gilligan, the American Express Co. president viewed as a possible successor to Chief Executive Officer Kenneth I. Chenault, died Friday after becoming ill on an overseas flight to New York. He was 55.

Gilligan was returning from a business trip to Tokyo on a corporate jet, which made an emergency landing after he was stricken, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful and the cause of death is undetermined, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a personal issue.