Indian American Raj Subramaniam is new FedEx CEO

FedEx Corp has named its operating chief, Raj Subramaniam, as the new chief executive officer, succeeding company founder Fred Smith, who started the global delivery conglomerate with more than a dozen planes in the 1970s.

FedEx Corporation is one of the world's largest transportation companies, with annual revenue of $92 billion.

As President and CEO-elect of FedEx Corporation, Subramaniam is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx operating companies: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Services, FedEx Office, FedEx Logistics, and FedEx Data works. Subramaniam is a member of the five-person Executive Committee, which plans and executes the corporation's strategic business activities. He is also a member of the FedEx Strategic Management Committee, a select group of the company's top leadership, which sets the strategic direction for the enterprise.

Subramaniam, 54, will assume chair positions for both committees on June 1, 2022. He has more than 30 years of industry experience at FedEx.

Originally from Trivandrum, India, Subramaniam lives in Memphis, Tennessee – the company's global headquarters. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), a master's degree in chemical engineering from Syracuse University, and a master's degree in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin.

Smith, 77, will transition to the role of executive chairman, overseeing sustainability, innovation, public policy and other global issues, FedEx said.

FedEx now has some 600,000 employees around the globe, and it moves millions of packages a day with one of the biggest air fleets in the world.