Indian-origin CEO Rajesh Subramaniam was conferred with the prestigious 2023 Horatio Alger Award along with twelve other distinguished business leaders for embodying the ”power of the American Dream.” The award was given to exceptional business, civic and cultural leaders from across North America at the 76th Horatio Alger Award Induction Ceremonies in Washington, D.C. on April 1, 2023.
Each year, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization, honors present outstanding leaders who have displayed extraordinary perseverance in overcoming challenges with the Award.
In his congratulatory message to Subramaniam, Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu tweeted, “Happy to see the journey of a young man from Thiruvananthapuram to Tennessee, which also underlines the potential of India-U.S.partnership, felicitated at the iconic event.”
The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans annually confers the award to esteemed individuals who have succeeded despite facing adversities and have remained committed to education and charitable efforts in their communities, a press release by the organisation said.
Subramaniam, who grew up in Thiruvananthapuram, was selected in 2022 to serve as president and CEO of FedEx, the USD 94 billion transportation company. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai and after winning a scholarship immigrated to America to attend Syracuse University, where he earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering.
In 1991, he graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with an MBA and joined FedEx as an associate analyst. According to the press release, over the next 30 years, Subramaniam served in various executive-level positions and became known as a strategic leader who confidently saw the company through a period of tremendous growth.
“Mr Subramaniam embodies the power of the American Dream,” the executive director of the Horatio Alger Association, Terrence J. Giroux, said. “His commitment to education and building a better life for himself is admirable, and he will undoubtedly serve as an inspiration for our scholars,” he said.
Subramaniam serves on the board of directors of FedEx Corporation, the Procter & Gamble Company, the US Chamber of Commerce’s China Center Advisory Board, FIRST, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and the US-China Business Council. He is also a member of the US-India CEO Forum. For 76 years, the Horatio Alger Award has been conferred annually, and the association inducts the awardees as lifetime members. According to the press release, members support promising young people with the resources and confidence needed to overcome adversity in pursuing their dreams through higher education.
An IIT alumnus, the CEO earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin.
“I strongly believe that through hard work and perseverance, one can overcome adversity to achieve success,” the press release quoted 55-year-old Subramaniam as saying. “It is a privilege to accept membership into the Horatio Alger Association, an organization whose mission reflects this ideal. I’m honored to join an incomparable list of Members and look forward to meeting the Scholars and supporting them through their college years and beyond.”
