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Raj Subramaniam became FedEx’s second ever CEO in the company’s 53-year history when he replaced founder Fred Smith in June 2022. It was a difficult time to take the helm: after the exuberance of runaway online shopping during the pandemic, global demand had began to slow significantly. Subramaniam even warned of a worldwide recession in September of that year, causing his company’s stock to plummet.
FedEx and its competitors are still adapting to a world without as much online shopping, and Subramaniam has had to make adjustments. He said in 2023 that the company would combine all of its ground, air, and other operations as part of a $4 billion savings plan, and the company cut tens of thousands of workers. The moves appear to have stabilized the company. Its shares are trading near pandemic highs, and in June FedEx reported an improvement in quarterly revenue after six straight quarters of declines.
During conversations in May and August, Subramaniam spoke to TIME about his upbringing, his career at FedEx, and the company’s future.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
I know that you studied chemical engineering in India and the U.S.—how did you get into the corporate world?
Having grown up in India, I had two choices, either be an engineer or a doctor. My mother was a doctor, and there’s no way I was going to do that—I definitely did not have that skill set. And in India, there was a well-worn path—but a very narrow path—that some of the top students got scholarships to go to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in engineering. That was the path that I took, but once I got here, when I was doing my master’s in chemical engineering, I figured out that a job in engineering wasn’t what I was going to do. I decided that I was going to pursue a business career, and went on to do an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.
What attracted you to FedEx specifically after you got your MBA?
Well, let’s call it a…
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