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Frederick Smith

Frederick Smith Biography

Frederick Wallace Smith, is the founder, chairman, president, and CEO of FedEx, originally known as Federal Express, the first overnight express delivery company in the world, and the largest in the United States. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1962, Smith entered Yale University. While attending Yale, he wrote a paper for an economics class, outlining overnight delivery service in a computer information age. Folklore suggests that he received a C for this paper. The paper became the idea of FedEx.

After graduation, Smith joined in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving for four years, from 1966 to 1969. As a Marine, Smith had the opportunity to observe the military's logistics system first hand. While in the military, Smith carefully observed the procurement and delivery procedures, fine-tuning his dream for an overnight delivery service.

On June 18, 1971, Smith founded Federal Express. In 1973, the company began offering service to 25 cities, and it began with small packages and documents and a fleet of 14 Falcon 20 (DA-20) jets. His focus was on developing an integrated air-ground system, which had never been done before.

Smith has served on the boards of several large public companies, 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 is chair of the Business Roundtable's Security Task Force, and a member of the Business Council and the Cato Institute. He served as chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council and is the current chairman of the French-American Business Council. In addition, Smith was named 2006 Person of the Year by the French-American Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame. Smith was named as Chief Executive magazine's 2004 "CEO of the Year".

In addition to FedEx, Smith is also a co-owner of the Washington Redskins NFL Team. Smith also owns or co-owns several entertainment companies, including Dream Image Productions and Alcon Films.

A DKE Fraternity Brother of George W. Bush while at Yale, after Bush's 2000 election, there was some speculation that Smith might be appointed to the Bush Cabinet as Defense Secretary. While Smith was Bush's first choice for the position, he declined for medical reasons

Smith was a supporter of Senator John McCain's 2008 Presidential bid, and had been named McCain's National Co-Chairman of his campaign committee. Some had speculated that Smith might have a role as an economic advisor in a theoretical McCain administration.

Smith was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1998. His other awards include "CEO of the Year 2004" by Chief Executive Magazine and the 2008 Kellogg Award for Distinguished Leadership, presented by the Kellogg School of Management on May 29, 2008. He was also awarded the 2008 Bower Award for Business Leadership from The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the 2011 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for distinguished contributions to commercial aviation.






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