On November 14, 2006, the French-American Chamber of Commerce convened its 23rd annual “Person of the Year Gala” which honored Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, FedEx Corporation.

More than 360 guests gathered in the beautiful Starlight Roof of the Waldof=Astoria to enjoy a gala evening awarding Mr. Smith the prestigious Person of the Year Award. The evening featured testimonials by the Ambassador of France to the U.S., His Excellency Jean-David Levitte, and the President of the French-American Chamber of Commerce, Serge Bellanger.

“Fred Smith, through his vision of the world, has created a global enterprise that has transformed the logistics and transportation industry and accelerated economic activity in dozens of countries,” said Serge Bellanger.

Frederick Smith, who was named Chief Executive Magazine’s 2004 “CEO of the Year”, is responsible for providing strategic direction for all of FedEx Corporation operating companies, including FedEx Services, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Kinkos. In this capacity, he actively promotes the French-American business and commercial relationship. Under his leadership, for instance, the corporation joined forces with the French Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs to expand trade and investment between the United States and France. In 1999, FedEx, which serves more than 220 countries and territories, created one of the world's largest distribution centers at Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. As stated by Ambassador Levitte, “[FedEx’s] presence is a confirmation of the strategic position our country holds in Europe, with its advanced transportation and communications networks.”

In his remarks, Mr. Smith addressed the importance of a prosperous and mutually-beneficial French-American economic alliance and detailed the role of FedEx in further strengthening this relationship. Indeed, the two countries conduct over $1 billion in daily commercial transactions and yearly bilateral trade in goods and services amounts to approximately 45 billion euros. Mr. Smith pointed to FedEx’s Charles de Gaulle Airport facility, its largest hub outside the U.S., as evidence of the company’s dedication to promoting this critical relationship.

Detailing the reasons for which FedEx chose to invest in France, Mr. Smith explained,

“We have had a very good relationship with the government of France and Aéroports de Paris and various ministries and are very happy with our main hub at the wonderful airport of CDG. We're one of the many U.S. companies […] that sing France's praises. We opened the FedEx facility at Charles de Gaulle a number of years ago and many people ask me why we did that.  Well, we did it because of the inherent size of the French market, its geographic position in the heart of the European continent, CDG's state-of-the-art facilities and the fact that Charles de Gaulle offers excellent air, rail and highway connections.”

Guests also had the opportunity to hear a candid interview between journalist David Barroux, New York Bureau Chief, Les Echos, and Mr. Smith. During this interview, Mr. Smith assessed the current state of the world economy and the impact of such factors as globalization. He also explored the challenges and opportunities currently facing French-American business and emphasized that France will continue to be an important partner as FedEx looks to further reinforce its position in the European market.

Following the Award Ceremony, guests enjoyed an impressive medley of classical and contemporary hits sung by Tenors and Divas Incognito. Guests were also treated to a gift of Opus One wine, the venture between Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi that is symbolic of French-American friendship.

Corporate Patron Sponsors of the Person of the Year Gala included Credit Industriel et Commercial, FedEx Corporation, Mazars LLP, Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe LLP, and Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking.

Corporate Benefactor sponsors included Air France, Alstom, BNP Paribas, Calyon Americas, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Invest in France Agency, Ketchum, Pernod Ricard USA, PriceWaterHouseCoopers LLP, Sanofi Aventis, and Thelen Reid & Priest LLP.

View full transcript

View photo gallery