We join the business world in mourning the passing of Titan Fred Smith, the Founder of FedEx. In 1973, the company was founded with 389 employees and 14 planes, and pioneered the hub and spoke model still in use. 705 aircraft, 200,000 vehicles and over 500,000 employees later, the company handles 17 million shipments daily.
Smith was a stellar human outside of the boardroom as well and was awarded a medal for bravery during the Vietnam War. Most describe Fred Smith as a low-key and humble person. He remained in Memphis and rarely made a public appearance. Though, if you saw Tom Hanks’ Castaway, then you probably saw Fred.
There is something to be said about Frederick Smith’s leadership style. It was focused on substance over the spotlight. Unlike many of our current high-profile tech founders, Smith built and scaled one of the most complex global logistics operations without dominating headlines or social media.
As we remember Fred Smith, I don’t want us to miss out on this important point. Low-profile leaders tend to be more focused on operational excellence than brand-building or self-promotion. Smith built a tightly run, reliable business that now moves 17 million packages a day.
Employees and investors value the steadiness and predictability of a CEO who isn’t embroiled in controversy or distracted by public image. Smith was respected as a mentor and inspirational figure, not as a celebrity. Smith quietly built a strong corporate culture building on internal equity and long term growth and sustainability.
The more public a CEO is, the higher the scrutiny—and the more room for missteps. Smith, wisely remained mostly outside the public firing line. There have been several impactful CEOs that had a similar style to Smith like Christopher Crane– Ex Exelon CEO whose successful mergers transformed the company into the leader in the industry by customer count.
Crane was a quiet leader. A customer champion and advocate for increasing the presence of women in the utilities space via the Exelon STEM Leadership Academy. Crane invested $3 million in STEM programs for women and signed the White House pay equity pledge. He also became a member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable for excellence in supplier diversity.
Jim Sinegal (Co-founder of Costco) also comes to mind as he earned a modest wage by choice and avoided the spotlight. Sinegal was a staunch believer in Costco’s products and saw little need for marketing. The CEO met with frontline managers and employees on his store visits, and focused on strengthening operations and pay equity.
CEOs have become rock stars as explored in a recent blog post. However, Frederick Smith, and the CEOs I’ve mentioned took a different route. You can say that they are the antithesis of pounding fists in a flood of neon lights and loud music. Smith quietly reshaped global commerce—without becoming a household name. He built an empire by focusing on what was impactful to his customers and clients: logistics, service, and systems.
In a world where it is rare the CEO that toils silently behind wide brimmed spectacles burning the midnight oil. Smith’s legacy is a powerful reminder that greatness doesn’t always cater to algorithms; rather it relies on an old 14th century adage “The Proof Is In The Pudding”. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Smith family and friends.
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