Exit interview: C-suite exec on his time at FedEx, love for Memphis, and legacy - Memphis Business Journal (2024)

Rob Carter describes his 31 years at FedEx Corp. as a “pinch myself” experience.

He has had his dream job for more than two decades, serving as the Memphis-based company’s chief information officer since 2000.

Carter said his time with the company has allowed him a “front-row seat” to the world and its evolution, where he’s been able to visit many countries through his work.

“It wasn’t something that I had ever quite imagined, but it was something I have loved since day one. What a ride it has been,” he said in a recent interview with MBJ.

Throughout his tenure with FedEx, Carter led many of the company’s technological advancements. Those efforts helped the company’s customers track their packages more easily, while significantly enhancing the volume and speed of those deliveries over time.

That chapter is soon coming to a close, however. Carter, 64, is stepping down from his CIO role, effective June 30, 2024. He is also leaving his roles as co-president and co-CEO of FedEx Services.

Carter is set to remain employed by the Memphis-based company as an EVP and senior advisor from July 1 through his retirement date of Dec. 31.

His successor, Sriram Krishnasamy, is in line to become EVP and chief digital and information officer and chief transformation officer on July 1.

Carter said the reason that now is the right time to retire is straightforward.

“I’m turning 65 in about a month, and I’ve been in the job for nearly 25 years. It really felt like the time to let the next generation of leaders at FedEx take the reins,” Carter said. “The first 50 years [of FedEx] were marked by an awful lot of exciting innovation, but we’ve embarked on the next 50 years. It’s a transformation to ‘one FedEx’ and a lot of exciting activity going on to create the next generation of the company.”

‘It’s never a day off everywhere’

Carter obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer and information science from the University of Florida in the early 1980s and an MBA from the University of South Florida.

Prior to joining FedEx, Carter worked in telecommunications at GTE, which later became Verizon.

He remembers getting an “amazing call” from FedEx, which led to him joining the company in 1993. His work initially centered on package tracking, handheld computers, mobile computing, and trucks.

“The early ’90s represented the birth of the internet in its earliest phases and the beginnings of a next generation of technology that would leave the mainframe [computers] of the past behind and usher in a new era … which is the connected world that we live in,” Carter said.

From the start, Carter was appreciative of the opportunity to work at FedEx. He moved up the ladder, becoming chief technology officer in 1998, and, two years later, CIO.

He said the FedEx’s mission and goals make it easy and exciting to come to work each day.

“The job is a seven by 24 by 365 and a quarter job,” he said. “The technology always runs at FedEx because it’s never a holiday everywhere. It’s never a day off everywhere.

“It’s a continuous operation around the globe as we support commerce and people’s lives and livelihood,” he continued. “It’s fulfilling the sense of purpose of being able to connect the world and change what’s possible in the world as we know it.”

Who Carter credits for his success at FedEx

In its announcement about Carter’s retirement, FedEx lauded his leadership and initiative that separated the company from its competitors, including technology such as real-time tracking and transactions.

Recognition in the industry has followed suit for Carter. He is a 25-time winner of CIO magazine’s 100 Award and has been inducted into its Hall of Fame; was named Chief of the Year three times by InformationWeek, and has been included on Fast Company’s Most Creative List and Most Creative People List.

“Rob has had a distinguished career at FedEx, most recently leading FedEx in modernizing our IT infrastructure for our network that ships 15 million packages per day around the globe,” said Raj Subramaniam, FedEx Corp. president and CEO. “I am immensely grateful to Rob for his numerous contributions in establishing FedEx as an innovative, data-driven, and people-focused company.”

Carter highlighted two main factors that have helped him keep FedEx modern amid all the technological advancements during his tenure: his team and the “excellent” support behind him. That started at the top with FedEx founder and executive chairman Fred Smith and the board of directors.

“As the business grew, we had the team members who could execute, and we had the support both financially and from a corporate culture standpoint to innovate,” Carter said.

The FedEx CIO gave continual praise for Smith not only on a professional level but also calling him “an amazing boss and a great friend.”

“Fred is such an iconic leader not just for us here at FedEx and in Memphis, but globally. Throughout business history, there are very few founders who were able to start and revolutionize the world with their business and grow it from a startup to nearly $100 billion [in revenue],” Carter said. “We’ve had a special relationship across those years, and I can’t think of a more rewarding part of the work than having had the opportunity to learn from Fred and grow and innovate in this business alongside him.”

Carter’s love for Memphis and FedEx

FedEx and Memphis have been intertwined for multiple generations as the company celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

Carter moved to Memphis in 1993 and fell in love with the city that would be his home for decades to come.

“I’ve never lived any place where I felt people were friendlier and more engaging. It’s a place I’ve come to call home,” he said.

In 2023, the longtime executive was appointed to the University of Memphis board of trustees by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

Even though he officially departs FedEx this year, Carter plans to stay in Memphis and continue his tenure leading the U of M and doing other work as part of the pride he takes in being a Memphian.

He said he also appreciates the achievements of those who helped move Memphis forward.

“I was always proud of the role that innovation played in Memphis,” he said. “It wasn’t just FedEx. It was so many different things, from Clarence Saunders and the birth of the modern supermarket with Piggly Wiggly and Kemmons Wilson and the birth of Holiday Inn to the role that FedEx has played in connecting the world.”

Carter wants Memphis to better embrace its “incredible” innovation heritage and the advantages the city has connecting the world through its central location linking air cargo, interstate systems, the Mississippi River, and railways.

“FedEx has played an amazingly important part of not just the economy but also the workforce,” Carter said. “I have this optimism that Memphis can become even better if we all learn to be optimistic and look forward to the future of our city.”

The FedEx of today and in the near-term future is much different than the company Carter joined in 1993.

Subramaniam is now CEO as Smith’s successor, and the company is undergoing a massive consolidation plan set to be fully implemented in June.

Carter remains optimistic about FedEx’s long-term future. He’s also hopeful the culture he helped establish remains intact and points to the technological advancements and awards won by his team during his tenure.

“The opportunity to have been an ambassador for culture in the corporation is something I take a lot of pride in,” Carter said. “I am also obviously proud of the technology work that we’ve done. It’s one of the most decorated technology teams in the world.”