FedEx Corp. founder Fred Smith will step down as CEO in June
FedEx Corp. said Monday that Fred Smith will step down on June 1 as CEO of the package-delivery company that he founded and be succeeded by the company's president and chief operating officer.
Raj Subramaniam will serve as both CEO and president and Smith will become executive chairman, the package-delivery company said.
Smith, 77, started FedEx in 1973, delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the post office could. Over the next half-century, he oversaw the growth of a company that combined air and ground service and became something of an economic bellwether because of its service to other companies.
'œFedEx has changed the world by connecting people and possibilities for the last 50 years,'ť Smith said in a statement that also praised Subramaniam's ability to guide the company. Smith said he will focus on global issues including sustainability, innovation, and public policy.
Subramaniam, 56, joined the company in 1991 and served in several marketing and management jobs in Asia and the United States. He rose to become the chief marketing and communications officer, and also served as the top executive of FedEx Express. He joined the FedEx board in 2020 and will remain a director.
Smith broke the news to FedEx employees in a memo that retraced some of the Memphis, Tennessee-based company's history. FedEx started with 14 planes and 389 team members, who delivered 186 packages on the first day of operations.
'œWe were a small startup and had our share of skeptics,'ť Smith said. He boasted that the company went on to become a "global connector of people and possibilities that would change our world for the better.'ť
Smith had hinted for a couple years that he could be close to retirement but wanted to see the company on better financial ground before he left.
FedEx was hurt by the trade war with China, and Smith frequently used forums such as the quarterly earnings call to rail against tariffs, making him one of the few CEOs of a large U.S. corporation to challenge then-President Donald Trump's trade policies.
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This story corrects an earlier version that said FedEx began operating in 1971.