Smith is responsible for providing strategic direction for all fedex corporation operating companies, including fedex services, fedex express, fedex ground and fedex freight. Fedex ceo fred smith takes 91% base salary reduction. Fred smith was an undergraduate at yale university in 1965. Now readers can join those whose lives have been stretched and enriched by words of wisdom from mentor and bestselling author fred smith sr.
That experience led smith to turn fedex into one of the. Join facebook to connect with fred smith and others you may know. There are other stories in the book that are just as interesting and even more remarkable. This book is a collection of 52 inspiring thoughts from fred on a variety of topicsincluding leadership, perseverance, success, character, faith. After graduation, smith served in vietnam with the marines.
Smith, or fred smith, is the founder, chairman, president, and ceo of fedex, a fortune 100 company. Read his comments about international trade, economic policy and more at. Smith is chairman and chief executive officer of fedex corp. The most sensational company in the history of airfreight distribution is notably fedex, as it turned the whole world on its head, thanks to its founders vision of a hub and spoke distribution system for overnight delivery. Convinced that blockchain is on the brink of transforming the packagedelivery business. Surprisingly, enough, one should not be surprised fred smith is the one that came up with this idea.
One of my favorites is the time the entire top management group threatene. At yale, he dreamed up his wild idea overnight mail. Fred smith generally travels from memphis, tn, usa and can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Fred smith is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. Fedex founder fred smith came up with the idea for the company for a term paper at yale in 1965. He struggled through a cruel ordeal and became desperate and reckless. Fedex ceo fred smith attacked the new york times for its story about his companys taxes, and he challenged the newspapers publisher. As the original name federal express suggests, the company was originally set up to. Fred smith, now chairman, president and ceo of fdx corp. The estimated speaking fee range to book fred smith for your event is available upon request.
Richard smith, son of fedex founder, buys east memphis. Smith, on risk, leadership, getting the most from people, and delivering on customer expectations. Fred smith and his racist white supremist fedex management use the pen like a modern day whip to keep their black workers in their place. The 75yearold ceo confronts the rise of ecommerce and the challenge of amazon. He is taking a 91% pay cut during the crisis, as fedex taps a. You cant just overnight decide, im going to pick up from every person in the world and every business in the world and be able to deliver it to every other, mr. Fred smith, fedex ceo, challenges ny times publisher to. Freds luck dries up as the sahara desert and within a short time, fedex starts edging close to bankruptcy. Fedex ceo fred smith sees blockchain as next frontier for logistics.
Originally known as federal express, it is the first overnight express delivery company in the world, the largest in the united states and largest in the world. As a marine in the vietnam war, smith had the opportunity to observe the militarys logistic system first hand. Frederick smith was born in marks, mississippi, the son of james frederick smithwho before age 20 dropped his first name, expressing a. That fedex is the number one shipper of illegal drugs in the world. Located off of sweetbrier road in east memphis, the 3. Thats one business principle you likely wont need to explain to fedex founder fred smith. Smith has challenged the new york times publisher a. Smith, in full frederick wallace smith, byname fred smith, born august 11, 1944, marks, mississippi, u. By and by, the money that smith had negotiated from his investors and from his siblings is going down the drain. In a rare display of transparency, if you post a message for fred smith on fedexs twitter or facebook accounts it is likely to get noticed and passed on. In 1970, a young flyer just back from vietnam got the idea for a s.
And how drug dealers ship illegal drugs all across america with complete safety. The concept is interesting and wellformed, but in order to earn better than a c, the idea must be feasible. While attending yale university in the mid 1960s, fred smith wrote an economics term paper on the need. Smith is responsible for providing strategic direction for all of fedex corp. Founder and ceo fred smiths dispute with the new york times over a report about 2018 taxes is just the latest public battle in 2019 that has helped shave more than 31% off fedexs stock price. Fdx q3 2020 earnings conference call march 17, 2020, 05. His book does not teach readers how to be transportation moguls, but it does spotlight just how exciting and expensive the flight to success can be.
A blessing in disguise fedexs structure is a legacy of the origins of the company that fred smith created. In 1962, fred smith entered yale university, and while attending the college, he wrote a paper for an economics class, outlining overnight delivery service in a computer information age. Frederick wallace smith born august 11, 1944 is the founder, chairman, president, and ceo. When fred smith started fedex in 1971, the company nearly didnt make it because of the spike in fuel costs related to the arab oil embargo. In 1971 fred smith, a young marine veteran just two years removed from combat duty in vietnam, set up a company that guaranteed overnight delivery of. Sheila wyborny highlights the life and accomplishments of the founder of federal express, who made his dream of overnight package delivery across the country a reality. Did fred smith, the founder of fedex, really make payroll. When the business worlds future leaders need more inspiration, consolation, or good advice than magazine articles can provide, there is finally a place for them to turn. As part of the coursework, he wrote an economics paper exploring the process of. Fedex responds to the new york times article from nov. Fred smiths overnight delivery service was anything but an overnight success. Smith, chairman and ceo of fedex corporation the new york times published a distorted and factually incorrect story on the front page of the sunday, november 17 edition concerning fedex and our billions of dollars of tax payments and billions of dollars of investments in the u.
Fedex saved from bankruptcy with blackjack winnings. Fedex fedex chairman, president and ceo fred smith. Eight quotes for small business leaders from the founder of fedex, fred w. Fedex corporation fdx ceo fred smith on q3 2020 results. The incident is true as stated in my book, changing how the world does business.
Fred smith on the birth of fedex the delivery giants founder recalls how he started it, what made it take off, and why it helped spark a revolution in business september 20, 2004. I learned that fedex ceo fred smith was involved in a criminal conspiracy to commit felony fraud against our military, the cia and other branches of our government. Fred smith grew up as an unusual rich kid in memphis. Fedex ceo fred smith sees blockchain as next frontier. Sulzberger to a debate about federal tax policy after the paper published an outrageous story about the. Haunted by personal ghosts, he volunteered for vietnam with a death wish. Fedex ceo challenges the new york times to a debate after.