Today, Sunday (22nd June) we honour and remember Fred Smith, age 80, the Founder and Former CEO of FedEx, a man whose bold vision transformed the way the world connects. A Vietnam marine veteran and Yale Graduate.
Alun Cornish, UK MD ground operations Europe,
Your passion, leadership, and relentless pursuit of innovation built more than a company; you built a global family. Rest in Peace, Mr. Smith. ‘Your legacy will forever live on in every package delivered, every journey made, and every life touched.
Fred Smith, founder of the US parcel delivery giant Federal Express, has died at the age of 80, having founded FedEx in 1973; he previously served in the US Marine Corps. He ran the company as CEO until 2022.
Fred was more than just the pioneer of an industry and the founder of our great company. He was the heart and soul of FedEx
current boss Raj Subramaniam wrote in a memo to staff.
In the movies, Fred Smith made a cameo appearance in the Tom Hanks movie Castaway in which a FedEx employee is stranded on an island after a plane crash. Born in 1944, Mr Smith started FedEx with 389 staff and 14 small planes that carried 186 packages from Memphis to 25 cities within the US. FedEx today has more than 500,000 employees across the globe and delivers millions of packages a day. Its operations involve 700 aircraft and 200,000 vehicles.
Mr Smith joined the US Marine Corps as a second lieutenant after graduating from Yale University. He served two tours in Vietnam and was awarded medals for bravery and wounds received in combat before leaving the military as a captain in 1969. The most respected FedEx award has become the Bravo Zulu.
'Hub and Spoke' vision for Express Logistics. - Fred Smith formed a vision for express logistics hub and spoke model. He used a business theory he came up with whilst at Yale to create what is now known as a hub and spoke delivery system. Such a network relies on co-ordinated cargo flights centred around a main hub - which Fred Smith set up in Memphis, Tennessee - which remains FedEx's base.
