Frederick Wallace Smith attended Yale University, earning a degree in economics in 1966. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam from 1966 to 1970, Smith founded Federal Express, and the company began operations in 1973. Smith's concept for "FedEx" was simple: fast jets devoted to overnight package delivery, and a team of people dedicated to the highest quality of service. The FedEx "hub-and-spoke" distribution method proved successful with the first hub in Memphis, Tennessee. As FedEx grew, the main obstacle to expansion was a regulatory limit on the capacity of air taxi aircraft. Smith organized a campaign to deregulate the air freight industry, and in 1977 his effort paid off. With the restrictions lifted, FedEx began buying larger aircraft and expanding its route structure internationally. Purchase of the Flying Tiger Line in 1988 added destinations in Asia and opened routes to Australia and South America. FedEx pioneered the use of information technology in the air freight industry. They were the first express company to use bar code systems to track package status, and the first to give high-volume customers their own computer terminals to process shipments. FedEx Corporation operating companies include FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Custom Critical, FedEx Logistics, FedEd Trade Networks, and Viking Freight. These companies serve 210 countries with 650 aircraft, 64,000 vehicles and over 2,600 facilities. Approximately 200,000 employees and independent contractors worldwide handle an average daily shipment volume of nearly five million items. Under Smith's leadership, FedEx was the first service company to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1990, and in 1994 was the first global express transportation company to receive simultaneous worldwide ISO 9001 certification.
Inducted in 2000.
Portrait Location: Modern Jet