Indian-origin Raj Subramaniam joined FedEx in 1991 in an entry-level role as an associate analyst. Today, he leads the company with no break in his 35-year service. In a recent podcast with Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell, he recounted how he landed the interview by chance when his roommate rejected the opportunity, as he wanted to go back to India. It was in 1991. Subramaniam was in the US on a student visa as he was studying MBA at the University of Texas.One day, he heard his roommate talking on the phone: “No, I can’t do that”. The roommate told him that it was an interview call from FedEx but he was rejecting it as he decided to leave the country. Subramaniam immediately picked up the phone and asked for the number. “You just talked to my roommate, but he doesn’t want to do the interview, but I am still here. Can I send you my resume?” he asked and that’s how it began.His first posting at FedEx was in Memphis, Tennessee. In another interview earlier, he recounted how even before the interview he informed his employer that he only had a visa and not a Green Card. “They said ‘Son, let’s get through the interview first, then we can discuss a green card.’”Then he was sent to Hong Kong for some years and then in 2003, he was made the regional president of FedEx Canada. In 2019, Subramaniam was promoted to president and chief operating officerIn 2022, Subramaniam became the second CEO in FedEx’s 50-year history. “If you asked me at the age of 25 — when I joined FedEx —if I thought it was possible that I would one day be CEO of this company, I would have told you I had a better chance playing professional cricket,” Subramaniam said earlier.Subramaniam was born and brought up in India and studied engineering at IIT-Bombay. Then he went to the US and completed his master’s degree in chemical engineering. His plan was to return to India after his master’s, but then he decided to get an MBA to learn about business.
FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam grabbed the opportunity that his roommate rejected: He can't come but can I send my resume?
