Indian-American corporate veteran Raj Subramaniam has been chosen as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the multinational courier delivery giant FedEx. Subramaniam will replace Frederick W Smith, who pioneered the package-delivery company about 50 years ago.

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On Monday, Smith announced that he would step down as the company’s chief executive officer in June, but continue as the company’s executive chairman.

Subramaniam will serve as both CEO and president from June 1.

“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," Smith said in a statement.

“It is an honour to be selected as his successor as CEO of FedEx and to continue delivering the Purple Promise in this new role with TeamFedEx,” Subbramaniam wrote on LinkedIn on Tuesday.

Who is Raj Subramaniam?

Rajesh (shortened to Raj) Subramaniam, 56, was born in Trivandrum, Kerala and moved to Mumbai when he was 15. He is now settled in Memphis, Tennessee, which is the global headquarters of FedEx.

Although Subramaniam is an Indian-origin executive leading a traditional legacy company, he is less celebrated and feted than his counterparts in the tech world like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Google’s Sundar Pichai.

Subramaniam is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, where he did his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1987. He later shifted to the US to complete his master’s in the same field from Syracuse University in 1989. He also holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Subramaniam at FedEx

Subramaniam has been with FedEx from the beginning of his career. He joined the company in 1991 and has served in many marketing and management positions in Asia and the US.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he was the vice-president, marketing, of the Asia Pacific region for FedEx Express from 1996 to 2003 and regional president, Canada, from 2003 to 2006.

He became the chief marketing and communications officer in 2017 and was appointed president and chief operating officer of the FedEx Corporation in 2019. Subramaniam joined the FedEx board the following year.

Other associations

Subramaniam is also a member of the International Trade Administration’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC). Apart from being a member of the board of directors of FedEx Corporation, Subramaniam is also part of the First Horizon Corporation, the US Chamber of Commerce’s China Center Advisory Board, US-China Business Council and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.

Messages from across the globe

Soon after the announcement, Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor congratulated Subramaniam on Twitter saying, another major international firm would be headed by an Indian.

"Always thrilled when a Thiruvananthapuram native triumphs!" Tharoor wrote on Twitter.

Fellow Kerala-American Sanjay Poonen, who was the president at SAP, tweeted: "Congrats Raj!!! Super proud of you at the helm of an iconic company!"