Who is the ceo of fedex ground

John A. Smith, president and chief executive officer of FedEx Freight, will become president and CEO of FedEx Ground on June 1. He replaces Henry Maier, who will remain at FedEx as an executive advisor until retiring on July 31.

Smith has more than 35 years of experience in the transportation industry and joined FedEx in 2000. He has served in several leadership roles, including senior vice-president of operations at FedEx Freight. He became FedEx Freight president and CEO in 2018.

“Henry [Maier] has helped steer tremendous growth across our commercial and e-commerce portfolio,” said Raj Subramaniam, president and COO of FedEx Corp. “Under his leadership, FedEx Ground revenue has more than doubled, with a focus on automation and speed as distinct competitive advantages.”

Lance Moll, FedEx Freight’s current senior vice-president of operations, will take over Smith’s existing role on March 1. Moll began his career at FedEx Freight in 1992.

Published Tue, Jan 26 2021 11:55 AM EST

• FedEx Ground CEO Henry Maier will retire from the Memphis-based logistics giant in July after 35 years with the company.
• FedEx Freight CEO John Smith will become the new president and "CEO-elect" of FedEx Ground beginning March 1.
• Lance Moll, FedEx Freight's senior vice president for operations, will become its new CEO on March 1.

A woman walks past FedEx Corp. Ground vehicle parked in the Midtown neighborhood of New York, U.S., on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015.

John Taggart | Bloomberg | Getty Images

FedEx Ground CEO Henry Maier is retiring from the Memphis-based logistics giant after 35 years and will be replaced with FedEx's top freight executive, the company said on Tuesday.

FedEx Freight CEO John Smith will become the new president and "CEO-elect" of FedEx Ground beginning March 1 and will fully take over the role on June 1, according to a statement from the company. Maier will remain with the company as an advisor until the end of July to "help ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities."

Maier has been the leading executive at FedEx Ground, which is responsible for the company's e-commerce shipments, since June 2013. Under Maier's leadership, FedEx quickly ramped up its network last year after the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders brought on a wave of residential package deliveries.

"Henry has helped steer tremendous growth across our commercial and e-commerce portfolio," FedEx's COO Raj Subramaniam said in a statement. "Under his leadership, FedEx Ground revenue has more than doubled, with a focus on automation and speed as distinct competitive advantages."

Incoming FedEx Ground CEO Smith joined FedEx in 2000 and has since served in various leadership positions at the company's freight division, according to the statement. Smith will be replaced with Lance Moll, FedEx Freight's senior vice president for operations, beginning March 1.

"John is a tremendous leader with extensive transportation experience and a track record of driving growth and innovation," Subramaniam said. "I have full confidence that under his leadership, FedEx Ground will continue to grow profitably and offer our customers the best commercial and e-commerce solutions in the industry."

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Published Mon, Mar 28 2022 4:46 PM EDTUpdated Mon, Mar 28 2022 10:17 PM EDT

FedEx Express President and CEO Raj Subramaniam during the final round of the World Golf Championships - FedEx St. Jude Invitational on July 28, 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Michael Wade | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

FedEx Corp. said Monday that Fred Smith will step down on June 1 as CEO of the package-delivery company that he founded and be succeeded by the company's president and chief operating officer.

Raj Subramaniam will serve as both CEO and president and Smith will become executive chairman, the package-delivery company said.

Smith, 77, started FedEx in 1973, delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the post office could. Over the next half-century, he oversaw the growth of a company that combined air and ground service and became something of an economic bellwether because of its service to other companies.

"FedEx has changed the world by connecting people and possibilities for the last 50 years," Smith said in a statement that also praised Subramaniam's ability to guide the company. Smith said he will focus on global issues including sustainability, innovation, and public policy.

Subramaniam, 56, joined the company in 1991 and served in several marketing and management jobs in Asia and the United States. He rose to become the chief marketing and communications officer, and also served as the top executive of FedEx Express. He became president and chief operating officer in 2019 and joined the FedEx board the following year. He will remain a director.

Smith said that for the past several years he had recommended to FedEx directors that if he died or became disabled they should name Subramaniam CEO and appoint an independent chairman. On Monday, the board appointed a current director, Brad Martin, as vice chairman and Smith's designated successor as chairman.

Smith broke the news to FedEx employees in a memo that retraced some of the Memphis, Tennessee-based company's history. FedEx started with 14 planes and 389 team members, who delivered 186 packages on the first day of operations.

"We were a small startup and had our share of skeptics," Smith said. He boasted that the company went on to become a "global connector of people and possibilities that would change our world for the better."

FedEx and rival United Parcel Service have benefitted in recent years from the boom in online shopping, which has meant more parcels for its drivers to deliver to customers' doorsteps. In 2019, as Amazon.com built up its own delivery business, FedEx dropped a contract to provide express delivery for the retail giant, and stopped ground deliveries for Amazon soon afterward.

FedEx was hurt by the trade war with China, and Smith frequently used forums such as the quarterly earnings call to rail against tariffs, making him one of the few CEOs of a large U.S. corporation to challenge then-President Donald Trump's trade policies.

The company earned $5.2 billion on revenue of $84 billion in its most recent full fiscal year, which ended last May 31.

Smith and a firm bearing his name own more than 19.2 million shares, according to FactSet. They are worth more than $4.4 billion at Monday's closing price.

Shares of FedEx rose about 2% in after-hours trading.

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