Fred Smith, founder and long-time CEO of the logistics company FedEx, has died at the age of 80. The company confirmed his death on Saturday. Smith founded the company in 1973 with just 14 Dassault Falcon 20 jets and significantly shaped the modern logistics business over five decades. It was not until 2022 that he handed over the operational management to Raj Subramaniam, but he remained Executive Chairman until the end.
With his pioneering concept for on-time express deliveries, Smith changed the rules of global delivery traffic. The centerpiece of his vision was a national logistics hub in Memphis, Tennessee – an approach later imitated by competitors like UPS with a hub in Louisville. Today, FedEx operates 698 aircraft worldwide and transports an average of over 16 million packages daily.
The origin of Smith's idea was remarkably unspectacular: a poorly rated paper as part of his economics studies at Yale University. The instructor considered the proposal unrealistic. Only two years after its founding, the company was already on the brink of insolvency. According to legend, Smith saved FedEx by turning the company's last funds into $27,000 while playing blackjack in Las Vegas – enough to cover the next fuel bill.
In an obituary on the company website, CEO Subramaniam honored Smith as "the heart and soul of FedEx" and "a mentor to many." Smith was "more than just an industry pioneer." Paul Young, Mayor of Memphis, also described Smith as "a visionary who not only founded a company but changed the way the world moves.
Since then, FedEx has developed from an express service into a global logistics corporation with extensive freight, delivery, and supply chain solutions. Recently, the company signed a new contract with Amazon for the delivery of large packages – six years after Smith terminated the business relationship in protest against Amazon's establishment of its own logistics network.
His time as a naval officer in Vietnam - awarded with two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star - was considered by Smith throughout his life as formative for his leadership style. He referred to the principles of military leadership in a speech at Yale University in 2006 as "the best.
Smith's clear conviction for globalization and market openness was evident in FedEx's early expansion into Asia, particularly China—a step that many US corporations only took years later.
