FedEx Ground leader will retire in July after eight year stay

FedEx Ground’s top executive will retire on July 31, with unit president and CEO Henry Maier stepping down after an eight year term, the company said today.

Maier will be replaced by John Smith, who is currently president and CEO of FedEx Freight and who will be replaced in that job by Lance Moll.

After first joining the company in 1986, Maier had recently led a transformation of the FedEx Ground division to handle growing volumes of e-commerce packages. By applying a focus on automation and speed as competitive advantages, he helped FedEx Ground to more than double its revenue, FedEx Corp. President and COO Raj Subramaniam said in a release.

His replacement, John Smith, will become president and CEO-elect of FedEx Ground on March 1 to begin the leadership transition as he begins his 21st year with the company. “At FedEx, we are fortunate to have a deep bench of leaders. With these two appointments, we are in a position to continue to grow both of these operating companies and create new value for our customers in the years to come,” Subramaniam said.