FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam took advantage of his roommate’s rejection: He can’t come, but can I send my resume?

FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam recounted how he called FedEx in 1991 when his roommate declined an interview.

Indian-born Raj Subramaniam joined FedEx in 1991 as a junior associate analyst. Today, he leads the company with 35 years of service. In a recent podcast with Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell, he recounted how he landed the interview by chance, but his roommate turned down the opportunity because he wanted to return to India. It was 1991, and Subramaniam came to the United States on a student visa to pursue an MBA at the University of Texas.One day he heard his roommate say on the phone, “No, I can’t do this.” His roommate told him it was an interview call from FedEx, but he turned it down because he decided to leave the country. Subramaniam immediately picked up the phone and asked for the number. “You just talked to my roommate and he didn’t want to be interviewed, but I’m still here. Can I send you my resume? he asked, and that’s how it started.His first position with FedEx was in Memphis, Tennessee. In another interview earlier, he recounted how he told his employer before the interview that he only had a visa but no green card. “They said ‘Son, let’s get through the interview first and then we can discuss the green card.'”He was then sent to Hong Kong for several years, and then in 2003, he was named president of FedEx Canada. In 2019, Subramaniam was promoted to President and Chief Operating OfficerIn 2022, Subramaniam becomes the second CEO in FedEx’s 50-year history. “If you had asked me at 25 years old – when I joined FedEx – whether I thought it was possible for me to be the CEO of this company one day, I would have told you that I had a better chance of playing professional cricket,” Subramaniam said earlier.Subramaniam was born and raised in India and studied engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Then he went to the United States to complete a master’s degree in chemical engineering. His plan was to return to India after his Masters, but he later decided to pursue an MBA to learn business.