When Fred Smith died in June at age 80, the world lost more than a business executive — it lost the visionary who revolutionized package shipping and forever transformed global commerce.
Smith founded Federal Express in 1973 with a simple but radical idea: guarantee overnight delivery using a hub-and-spoke system he had sketched out in a Yale economics paper. He described a few large hubs fed by the spokes coming from smaller airport markets. The passengers — or in this case, the freight—are redistributed, and the returning flights deliver the goods to the customers.
The professor gave Fred a C.
History says otherwise.
That concept grew into FedEx, the purple and orange shipping giant that now generates $90 billion in annual revenue and handles 17 million shipments daily across more than 220 countries.
Fred started Federal Express at age 26 after returning from Vietnam, where he served as a Marine and was a forward air controller. He had achieved his pilot's license when he was in high school.
He started FedEx with just a handful of aircraft in Little Rock, Arkansas. Then, Fred moved the business to Memphis, Tennessee, where it grew into a global giant over the past five decades.
His original mission statement became what FedEx is known for: "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight." That thought changed the world.
I had the pleasure of meeting with Fred several times as my colleague, Air Vice Marshal Ron Dick, and I interviewed him to ensure his accomplishments were properly included in the aviation books we were creating. I also had the opportunity to make Fred's portrait in his office in Memphis. His sardonic thoughts about the corporate environment came through.
In our first meeting, he was lamenting about the corporate restrictions. Fred was first and foremost an aviator. He was a guy who wanted to fly — his heritage shows that. He told us he was planning to acquire and fly a warbird, either a P-51 Mustang or an RAF Spitfire. Apparently, the FedEx board and the executive insurance company felt otherwise. Couldn't have the CEO zooming around in a "dangerous" high-performance World War II fighter. Fred sighed and said he was going to have to give up on that idea.
Several years later, we decided we needed a portrait of Fred, which I would make. By then, we had been gathering portraits of aviators worldwide. Fred would be an important addition.
The FedEx corporate layers of bureaucracy presented a daunting challenge. After all, they had plenty of corporate photos. We did not give up, and after a few months, I received a call from the inner circle in Fred's office. Progress.
Could I come to Memphis? Of course. How much time will I need? Can you be flexible in your schedule? Of course. Finally, I spoke with the person who commanded the office. She told me that I would have no longer than 20 minutes, but could take all the time I needed to set up the lights and be prepared. "That's all I need," I assured her. The date was set, and I drove to Memphis the day before. The opportunity was arranged for 11 a.m. I could come to the office way earlier to set up. I scoped out the scenario the evening before.
I arrived at the surprisingly nondescript offices at 9:30 a.m. I wheeled my cart filled with my location lighting equipment into the executive offices, was given a tour of Fred's office, and got to work. A small conference table near the door with a large world globe in the corner — perfect for a global aviator. I selected a FedEx jet model to sit on the table. I was all set and ready with 45 minutes to spare. The exposure set, the Polaroids were made, and the shot was ready. The office commander peered over her half-glasses with some disdain.
Just before the appointed time, Fred strolled in and greeted me like an old friend. We visited just a bit, and then I explained the photo and asked him to take his seat. The actual time to make the portrait took five minutes. When I told Fred we had the shot, he looked very relieved. He glanced at the closed door, which was where the office commander lurked. He told me that he rarely had 15 minutes of unscripted time, shook my hand, and said a heartfelt "thanks."
Fred Smith made his economics term paper a reality and created an A-plus organization.
Blue Skies and Tailwinds is presented by SNC, a global aerospace and defense firm, with support from the Wright State University Aviation Science and Technology Program. The series is produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.
