He led the company from 1977 to 1993 and helped turn Wall Street into a more competitive financial marketplace. : He led the company from 1977 to 1993 and helped turn Wall Street into a more competitive financial marketplace. James D. Robinson III, who as chief executive of the American Express Company from 1977 to 1993 helped transform Wall Street into a more competitive financial marketplace, with a wide diversity of businesses housed under single roofs, died on Monday in Roslyn, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 88.