Indian-born Raj Subramaniam joined FedEx in 1991 in an entry-level role as an associate analyst. Today, he leads the company without any interruption in his 35 years of service. In a recent podcast with Fortune editor-in-chief Alison Shontell, he explained how he landed the interview by chance when his roommate declined the opportunity because he wanted to move back to India. This is from 1991. Subramaniam was in the US on a student visa as he was pursuing his MBA at the University of Texas.One day, he heard his roommate talking on the phone: “No, I can’t do that”. The roommate told him it was an interview call from FedEx but he was rejecting it because he had decided to leave the country. Subramaniam immediately picked up the phone and asked for the number. “You just talked to my roommate, but he doesn’t want to do an interview, but I’m still here. “Can I send you my resume?” he asked and that’s how it started.His first posting at FedEx was in Memphis, Tennessee. Earlier in another interview, he told how even before the interview he had informed his employer that he only had a visa and not a green card. “He said ‘Son, let’s finish the interview first, then we can discuss the green card.’He was then sent to Hong Kong for a few years and then in 2003 he was made regional president of FedEx Canada. In 2019, Subramaniam was promoted to President and Chief Operating OfficerIn 2022, Subramaniam became the second CEO in FedEx’s 50-year history. Subramaniam previously said, “If you had asked me at the age of 25 – when I joined FedEx – if I thought it was possible that I would one day become the CEO of this company, I would have told you that I had a better chance playing professional cricket.”Subramaniam was born and raised in India and studied engineering at IIT-Bombay. He then moved to America and completed his master’s degree in chemical engineering. He planned to return to India after his master’s degree, but then decided to pursue an MBA to learn about business.