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Frederick Smith: FedEx founder resigns after 50 years as CEO

2022-03-29T02:23:29.370Z


In the early 1970s, Frederick Smith founded the parcel service FedEx, and now he is handing over the management of the company. It should be ready on June 1st. His successor has already been determined.


Frederick Smith at a hearing in Washington in February 2017

Photo:

Chip Somodevilla/ Getty Images

FedEx founder Frederick Smith will step down as CEO after nearly five decades at the helm of the transportation giant.

As the US company announced on Monday, the previous operational director Raj Subramaniam is to take over the post on June 1st.

Smith founded FedEx in 1971 and operations started in 1973.

FedEx initially delivered packages and documents within the USA with 389 employees and 14 smaller aircraft.

The company said it delivered 186 packages to 25 US cities on the first day.

Today the company is one of the largest logistics groups in the world.

"FedEx has changed the world by connecting people and opportunities for the past 50 years," Smith is quoted as saying.

In the future, he will focus on global issues such as sustainability, innovation and public order within the company.

Smith, who is now 77, had the idea for the company during his studies, as the company website states.

At that time, in a term paper, he described a system for the delivery of urgent, time-sensitive shipments such as medicine, computer parts and electronics.

On the one hand, the original name "Federal Express" refers to the express business, i.e. urgent deliveries, with which FedEx grew.

According to the company website, Smith wanted to use the word "Federal" to appeal to the "patriotic" feeling of his countrymen and to facilitate business with US federal institutions.

Smith's successor as CEO, 56-year-old Raj Subramaniam, joined FedEx in 1991.

He takes over a global corporation with hundreds of aircraft, $84 billion in sales and 570,000 employees.

However, the company has to contend with growing competition, for example from United Parcel Service and former customer Amazon.

aar/Reuters/AFP

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2022-03-29

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