Package-delivery giant FedEx has named company’s 56-year-old president and chief operating officer Raj Subramaniam has been named as the new CEO.
Subramaniam will replace founder Fred Smith, 77 yo, who will step down on June 1 and take on the role of executive chairman.
Smith said in a FedEx statement:
“As we look toward what’s next, I have a great sense of satisfaction that a leader of the caliber of Raj Subramaniam will take FedEx into a very successful future. In my role as Executive Chairman, I look forward to focusing on Board governance as well as issues of global importance, including sustainability, innovation, and public policy.”
Subramaniam is originally from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram and has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from IIT Bombay.
He also has a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Syracuse University and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.
Prior to his role as President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Corp., Subramaniam was President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Express.
He also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of FedEx Corp., where he was responsible for developing the corporate strategy.
In addition, Subramaniam served as the President of FedEx Express in Canada and in several other management and marketing roles throughout Asia and the U.S. since he joined FedEx in 1991.
Subramaniam said:
“As we continue to transform as a company and reimagine what’s next, we will keep our people-service-profit philosophy at our core. I am immensely proud of our 600,000 team members around the world. Together we’ve set into motion ideas that have changed the world for the better, and together we will unlock new value for our people, customers, and shareholders.”
With this achievement, Subramaniam will join other notable Indian-origin CEOs who are presently heading most successful American businesses and companies. These include Sundar Pichai – Alphabet, Satya Nadella – Microsoft, Parag Agrawal – Twitter, Leena Nair – Chanel, Shantanu Narayen – Adobe Inc, Arvind Krishna – IBM, and Nikesh Arora – Palo Alto Networks.
Subramaniam was elected to the FedEx Board of Directors in 2020 and will maintain his seat on the Board.