Richard Smith, an executive at FedEx and son of the company’s late founder, Fred Smith, has been nominated for the company’s board of directors, setting the stage for Richard to follow in his father’s footsteps as CEO.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) Chairman Brad Martin announced Richard Smith’s nomination in a letter to stockholders. The company will hold its annual shareholder’s meeting on Sept. 29.
Richard Smith, 47, is currently chief operating officer for FedEx Express International and airline operations. He began his career at FedEx 20 years ago. He has held several high-level executive positions, including president and chief executive officer of Federal Express, regional president The Americas, and head of FedEx Logistics.
Satish Jindel, a parcel industry veteran and president of ShipMatrix, said he believes the nomination is the first domino in a succession plan for Richard Smith to become CEO.
Under his scenario, when Martin leaves FedEx Express in June 2026, as previously announced, to be chairman of a new publicly traded company created by the planned spin-off of FedEx Freight, current CEO Raj Subramaniam will also become chairman.
At the same time, Richard Smith will become president and chief operating officer of FedEx Express for the U.S. and Canada, replacing John Smith (unrelated), who has been named to be CEO of FedEx Freight, the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carrier.
“With freight gone and Richard having operating experience, he is being groomed” to eventually lead the company, Jindel told FreightWaves. “He’s got eight or nine months to produce some results in his current position, and once he’s head of FedEx Express in two, three, or four years, he can become CEO like his father was.”
Subramaniam, 59, has been CEO of FedEx Corp. since June 2022. He took over from Fred Smith, who stayed on as executive chairman until his death in June.
Jindel has a track record of making correct predictions about FedEx. After John Smith was installed as head of FedEx Ground in early 2021, Jindel predicted that Richard Smith would be named CEO of FedEx Express. When Richard Smith took the job in March 2022, Jindel posted online that Subramaniam would become CEO and that Fred Smith would become executive chairman.
“There’s a 12-year gap” between Richard Smith and Subramaniam. “So there’s plenty of time for Raj to stay as CEO and for Richard to become the chief operating officer and president, produce good results, and then move into that position,” said Jindel.
“This allows for Fred’s legacy to continue,” which was the stated intention of many speakers at his ceremony celebrating his life on Aug. 11 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee, said Jindel.
