Marine Corps veteran was twice asked to serve as Secretary of Defense by President George W. Bush

Frederick Wallace Smith was an American business magnate and investor. He was the founder and chairman of FedEx Corporation, the world’s largest transportation company. Smith stepped down as CEO in June 2022 and was succeeded by Raj Subramaniam.

Frederick W. Smith, the founder and former executive chairman of FedEx, died on Saturday, the company announced. He was 80 years old.

“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 – its PSP culture, values, integrity, and spirit,” a message to FedEx employees from CEP Raj Subramaniam said, referring to the company’s philosophy of “People-Service-Profit.”

Smith was described as “a mentor to many” and “source of inspiration to all.”

He graduated from Yale in 1966 and served four years in the Marine Corps, which included two tours of duty in Vietnam, before launching the “original air-ground Federal Express network which began operations in 1973,” according to the Marine Corps Association.

Fred Smith was a Marine veteran who flew combat missions in Vietnam. This photo of him is from July 25, 1980, and is featured on top of some FedEx trucks in San Diego, Calif.  (Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images)

FedEx officially launched with 389 team members and 14 small planes that flew 186 packages from Memphis to 25 U.S. cities, according to Reuters.

Smith most recently served as the firm’s executive chairman and focused on board governance, as well as issues of global importance, including sustainability, innovation and public policy, according to his profile on FedEx’s website.

Undated filed photo of FedEx founder Fred Smith, shared by the U.S. Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps / Fox News)

He stepped aside in 2022 and was succeeded by Subramaniam, who was then the company’s operations chief, Reuters reported.

“As we begin to process this tremendous loss, it is important that we take care of one another and demonstrate the passion and compassion that Fred embodied every day. In the coming days and weeks, I know we will all find ways to honor his memory and pay tribute to his legacy,” Subramaniam’s message to the company concluded.

Former CEO of FedEx Fred Smith, who fought in Vietnam as he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, looks on at the Vietnam Veterans memorial at the National Mall on Memorial Day in Washington, U.S., May 27, 2024.  (Tom Brenner / Reuters)

FedEx operations now include 705 aircraft, more than 200,000 vehicles and about 5,000 operating facilities, according to its website. More than 500,000 employees worldwide handle approximately 17 million shipments each day at FedEx.

“FedEx changed the way we live and do business,” former President George W. Bush, who was Smith’s fraternity brother at Yale, said in a statement.

David Solomon, chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., left, speaks with Frederick Smith, founder and executive chairman of FedEx Corp., during the American Energy Security Summit in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.  (Nick Oxford/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

“I twice asked him to serve as Secretary of Defense, and he declined twice only because of his devotion to his family. Laura and I send our condolences to Fred’s beloved children and grandchildren and his wife, Diane,” Bush said.

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FedEx founder and former boss Fred Smith dies aged 80

Fred Smith, founder of the US parcel delivery giant Federal Express, has died at the age of 80, the company has announced.

Mr Smith founded the firm in 1973 having 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.

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 now has more than 500,000 employees across the globe and delivers millions of packages a day.

Its operations involve 705 aircraft and 200,000 vehicles, according to its website.

“He was a mentor to many and a source of inspiration to all. He was also a proud father, grandfather, husband, Marine, and friend,” Mr Subramaniam said.

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.

Mr Smith used a business theory he came up with while 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 Mr Smith set up in Memphis, Tennessee, which remains FedEx’s base.

While well known in Memphis, Mr Smith lived a life relatively out of the spotlight – although he did make a cameo appearance in the Tom Hanks movie Castaway in which a FedEx employee is stranded on an island after a plane crash. source

FedEx ‘visionary’ Fred Smith had unparalleled impact on Memphis sports

FedEx founder Fred Smith made his fortune and found his fame as a businessman.

But, for all the renown he received by revolutionizing the global shipping industry, Smith’s impact on sports in Memphis is equally immeasurable.

It’s a big reason why former Memphis mayor Jim Strickland has described Smith as “the most significant Memphian in history” on multiple occasions.

Smith, who died June 21 at 80, leaves behind an unmatched legacy of involvement, investment and influence on much of what has made Memphis a proud and passionate sports city.

“Every big opportunity that we’ve had, either Fred Smith or Fred Smith and FedEx, they were always the game changer,” Memphis Tourism president and CEO Kevin Kane told The Commercial Appeal in 2023 when the publication named Smith its Sports Person of the Year. “They were the reason why things happened.”

Memphis is an NBA city thanks to Smith. Memphis is in position to remain an NBA city for the foreseeable future thanks to Smith. Memphis (that is, the University of Memphis) is pushing for a Power 4 conference invitation by showing it can invest at the same level as Power 4 schools – thanks to Smith.

Memphis has established a rich football tradition in the form of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the Southern Heritage Classic and, currently, as home to the UFL’s Memphis Showboats thanks to Smith.

Memphis is home to one of the PGA Tour’s signature events (the FedEx St. Jude Championship), which since 2019 has brought dozens of the world’s best golfers to TPC Southwind, shining one of the sport’s brighter spotlights on Memphis – thanks to Smith.

In a prepared statement issued on June 22, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan called Smith “the visionary of FedEx who led every day with tremendous character and values.”

“Fred and his company made significant contributions to the growth and popularity of PGA TOUR golf, and the TOUR continues to benefit from his and FedEx’s influence, which will be felt for generations to come,” Monahan said.

Fred Smith and FedEx’s role in bringing the Grizzlies to Memphis

Smith’s fingerprints are forever tattooed on Memphis’ sports scene.

Perhaps, however, none more prominently so than the Grizzlies. When the franchise’s owner, Michael Heisley, decided to move it out of Vancouver in 2001, several cities were in the running for its ultimate destination. New Orleans (pre-Pelicans) and Anaheim were contenders. So, too, was Louisville.

Memphis – which had long desired to be home to a major league sports organization only to come up short – emerged. Despite being the smallest market among the final four contenders, Smith’s role in the negotiations was the difference.

“Heisley said the turning point in choosing Memphis over Louisville was the involvement of Memphis-based FedEx Corp., which will pay him for naming rights to the new arena,” The Commercial Appeal reported in 2001, when the deal came to fruition.

FedEx paid a reported $92 million in the naming rights deal.

In 2023, when the Grizzlies’ immediate future in Memphis appeared, at least, a bit shaky, Smith stepped up again. The franchise’s FedExForum lease agreement was soon due to expire, and officials were reluctant to renew without a major renovation project to update the downtown facility.

Smith brokered a deal with local and state lawmakers that resulted in $230 million worth of state money being earmarked for FedExForum renovations.

Smith’s son, Richard Smith (president and CEO of airline and international at FedEx), said his father always believed deeply in the power of sports on community.

“Look at your great cities in the U.S., look at your thriving cities, and they all have vibrant sports and entertainment,” Richard Smith told The Commercial Appeal in 2023. “That’s one of the great factors, the quality of life factors, that contributes to a great city. We think that’s very important as far as being able to attract people to Memphis and to get them to want to stay in our headquarter city.” 

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