'You symbolise the Indian Raj.' Anand Mahindra coins a term for the new FedEx CEO

Among the growing clan of Indian-origin CEOs in global companies, a new member has been added. Indian American Raj Subramaniam is all set to be the new Chief Executive Officer of the US-based multinational courier delivery company, FedEx. The development led to congratulatory messages from several business leaders across the world.

Indian business tycoon, Anand Mahindra, took to his Twitter to applaud Subramaniam. The billionaire in his tweet commended Sumbramaniam saying that succeeding a legend such as Frederick Smith was itself a legendary accomplishment. He thanked the 54-year-old new FedEx CEO and ended the tweet with a wordplay on Subramaniam's first name.

“To succeed a legend like Frederick Smith is, in itself, the stuff of legends. Thank you for making us proud. You symbolise the Indian ‘Raj!’ (Not the British Raj),” read Mahindra’s tweet which ended with a happy smiley and clap emojis.

Raj Subramaniam, who joined the company in 1991, was elected to the FedEx Board of directors in 2020. The company has maintained that Subramaniam will continue to hold his seat on the Board. Earlier, Subramaniam had also served as the President and CEO of FedEx Express.

Subramaniam, who is from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from IIT Bombay. He also holds a master's degree in chemical engineering from Syracuse University and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

In a span of three decades, Subramaniam also served as executive vice president, chief marketing and communications officer and president of FedEx Express in Canada.

He has been serving as the vice president of marketing at FedEx Express in the Asia Pacific region since 1996. Later, he was appointed as the regional president of the company for Canada in 2003. Between 2013 and 2019, Subramaniam was the executive vice president of marketing and communication before his elevation to the post of president.