FedEx Corporation has announced that its founder, chairman and CEO Frederick W. Smith will be stepping back from the CEO role effective June 1 and it will be taken over by Raj Subramaniam, the President and Chief Operating Officer, at Fedex.
Smith, 77, started FedEx in 1973, delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the post office could, reported CNBC.
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.
“FedEx has changed the world by connecting people and possibilities for the last 50 years,” stated the report citing a statement from Smith.
Lauding Subramaniam’s ability to guide the company. Smith said he will focus on global issues including sustainability, innovation, and public policy.
Subramaniam, 56 has been with FedEx since 1991, holding assorted senior management and marketing positions across Asia and the US. In 2003, he was appointed Regional President for FedEx Express - the air delivery service and largest business line - in Canada, and subsequently moved to FedEx Services, the support group for the other FedEx companies, as Head of Global Marketing.
He then returned to FedEx Express as President and CEO in January 2019, and in March of that same year became President and CEO of FedEx Corporation, the holding company.
Subramaniam, who has been named CEO-elect with immediate effect, will move into the new position on June 1, taking over the reins of the package-shipping company from the man who pioneered express delivery almost 50 years ago.
Smith said that for the past several years he had recommended to FedEx directors that if he died or became disabled they should name Subramaniam CEO and appoint an independent chairman, stated media reports.
On Monday, the board appointed a current director, Brad Martin, as vice chairman and Smith’s designated successor as chairman.
Subramaniam’s promotion was long expected, stated the report. Less than a month ago, the company named Smith’s son, Richard W Smith, as the next head of its express division. The 77-year-old founder has been saying for at least two years that he’s nearing the end of his long tenure, it added.