FedEx Express President and CEO to retire after 40 years at the company

FedEx Express CEO Donald F. Colleran has announced he will be retiring by the end of this year, Donald is stepping down after 40 years at FedEx.

Colleran initially started working for Flying tigers, a cargo airline that was acquired by FedEx in 1989. After the acquisition he became international sales and operations management for FedEx, he then continued on to become president of FedEx Canada, Senior Vice President of international sales then being promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer 2017, in 2019 he went on to become FedEx Express CEO.

Under his leadership FedEx was able to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic launching new capabilities for its customers.

His successor will be Richard Smith, FedEx founder Fred Smith’s son. He started at FedEx in 2005 as president and CEO of FedEx Logistics, and although he hasn’t had a career as long as his predecessor he’s served various positions over the years and has lots of experience.

Smith will assume the role of CEO-elect on April 1 before assuming full duties on September 1, Colleran will remain with the company as Chief Executive Officer Executive Advisor through December to help aid in a smooth transition of responsibilities.

It is important to note that this is only for FedEx’s Express unit, Raj Subramaniam will still assume responsibilities as FedEx CEO after Fred Smith retires.

In a statement Raj Subramaniam said:
“Richard has a deep understanding of our business and has played a pivotal role in many of our most important initiatives, including our electric vehicle strategy and our life-saving vaccine distribution efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. With the outstanding executive management team we have in place to execute our strategy, including leaders like Richard, I am confident in the future of FedEx.”