Some leaders from the upper echelons of a conglomerate’s totem pole think of hanging up their hats following an illustrious career spanning two to three decades. But Indian American Raj Subramaniam, 55, is all set to don a new hat; the hat of a CEO for FedEx Corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. He will assume the responsibilities of FedEx Corporation’s CEO on June 1, succeeding Frederick W Smith, the present CEO, Chairman and founder. Reportedly, Subramaniam will continue to be the President of FedEx, at the same time.
Raj Subramaniam follows Maju Kuruvilla, who was the first to have joined the elite club of Indian American CEOs in 2022. As the CEO of FedEx, he will be helming the strategic direction to several companies namely FedEx Express, FedEx Freight, FedEx Services, FedEx Office, FedEx Ground, FedEx Logistics, and FedEx Dataworks under the umbrella of FedEx Corporation. He will retain his seat on the FedEx Board that he joined in 2020. He is also a leading member of the Executive and Strategic Management committees that execute principal business activities and steer the company towards its goals.
A native of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala; FedEx’s CEO-elect Raj Subramaniam has been a pillar of the company since 1991. He rose through ranks and held several positions until his pursuit of American Dreams culminated in his new role as CEO. He was the President and COO of FedEx Corporation prior to this promotion. FedEx has seen the best of him as a leader in marketing and operations across its portfolio of companies. Notably, he was the vice president of marketing in Asia Pacific and the regional president of marketing in Canada for FedEx Express, from 1996 to 2006.
In his LinkedIn profile, he sums up his epic career spanning 30 years at FedEx, “I have the privilege of overseeing the FedEx portfolio of operating companies and more than 600,000 team members around the world. Throughout my 30+ years with FedEx, I have come to learn and truly believe that culture is at the core of everything we do. It is an honor to be able to serve in this capacity, representing one of the world’s greatest companies.”
Founded in 1971, FedEx, one of the world’s largest shipping companies and one of the top contractors of the federal government, has seen meteoric growth from a startup with an annual revenue of one billion dollars to a multinational conglomerate with $84 billion in revenues (as of 2021). “Helming an ever-growing enterprise with an annual revenue close to $100 billion is, indeed, a great honor and a colossal responsibility for an Indian American,” said the Editor of Travel Beats, a leading community portal for Indians in the US.
FedEx’s new CEO Raj Subramaniam had moved to the US with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from IIT Bombay. He pursued a master’s degree in the same at Syracuse University, New York, and earned an MBA degree the University of Texas, Austin. “It has been the greatest privilege of my career to work for Frederick and learn from one of the most brilliant business minds of our lifetime. It is an honor to be selected as his successor at FedEx and to continue delivering the Purple Promise in my new role,” said Subramaniam in a LinkedIn post.
His journey from an F1 visa to the most coveted US citizenship, and from economy travel to business class flights makes an inspiring story of ‘American Dream’.
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You can learn and excel in formal education but it is your upbringing and human values that ultimately
lifts one up to a top position . Call it effective team leader or whatever !!
Congratulations to Raj Subramaniam !!