Fred Smith Biography

Frederick W. Smith is chairman and chief executive officer of FedEx Corporation, a $44-billion global transportation, business services and logistics company.

Smith is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx Corporation operating companies, including FedEx Services, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight. FedEx serves more than 220 countries and territories with operations that include 660 aircraft and over 90,000 vehicles. More than 300,000 team members worldwide handle more than 10 million shipments each business day. Since founding FedEx in 1971, Smith has been an active proponent of regulatory reform, free trade and "open skies agreements" for aviation around the world. Most recently, he has advocated for vehicle energy-efficiency standards and a national energy policy.

FedEx has continued to strengthen its industry leadership over the past 40 years, and has been widely acknowledged for its commitment to total quality service. FedEx Express was the first service company to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1990. FedEx has consistently been ranked on FORTUNEmagazine’s industry lists, including “World’s Most Admired Companies,” “100 Best Companies to Work For” and is on FORTUNE’s “Blue Ribbon Companies List

Smith is co-chairman of the Energy Security Leadership Council, a Trustee for the United States Council for International Business and a member of the Business Roundtable. He served as chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council and is co-chairman of the French-American Business Council. Smith has served on the boards of several large public companies and the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Mayo Foundation Boards. He was formerly chairman of the Board of Governors for the International Air Transport Association and the U.S. Air Transport Association.

Smith has received numerous civic, academic and business awards including the Global Leadership Award from the U.S—India Business Council, the George C. Marshall Foundation Award; and the Circle of Honor Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. In addition, Smith is a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame, served as co-chairman of both the U.S. World War II Memorial Project and the campaign for the National Museum of the Marine Corps. and was named a top CEO by both BARRON’S magazine and CHIEF EXECUTIVE magazine.

Born in 1944 in Marks, Miss., Smith attended Yale University, where he earned a B.A. in 1966. Smith served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966-1970.

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