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The people of Memphis, Tennessee, can be proud of their native son. As president of the Asia-Pacific Division of FedEx Express, David Cunningham is a good example of the 'from mailroom to boardroom' success story.

He began his career with the company in 1982, moving boxes at FedEx's Memphis hub. After 21 years with the company, Mr Cunningham certainly knows FedEx inside-out.

When meeting the man for the first time one is immediately struck by his imposing height and by the unmistakable drawl that betrays his Southern roots.

He appears easygoing, not at all the driven, type-A personality one suspects is hiding behind that laid-back exterior.

By all accounts, Mr Cunningham's climb up the corporate ladder has been swift, but he is quick to point out that it has involved some sacrifice and plain hard work.

The company helped to put him through school with its tuition allowance for employees. Mr Cunningham often worked evenings (11pm to 2.30am) while attending undergraduate classes during the day.

Regularly, he had classes from 8am to noon. He would then take lunch, have a nap before going back for more classes in the evening, and then work again.

'I basically slept a bit and worked a lot,' he says of what was surely a gruelling schedule. During graduate school he often worked 100-hour weeks, while fitting in three to five evening classes a week.

Juggling work and school takes discipline, a quality that Mr Cunningham clearly has.

His efforts paid off.

Thanks to a company policy of internal hiring, Mr Cunningham was able to leverage his education to become an associate, then a senior, financial planning analyst in Memphis.

'I wanted to grow with the company, but there were people with more experience in the line-up,' he says, explaining his motivation to pursue further education.

'One week I was shifting boxes; next, I was giving presentations to people, including [company founder] Fred Smith.'

At one point, all within a three-week period, Mr Cunningham got married, moved to Hawaii and became FedEx's project administrator of financial planning and manager for Asia Pacific.

Later, he became corporate managing director of FedEx Worldwide Financial Planning.

Sound common sense has taken Mr Cunningham to where he is today.

That and a firm belief that 'in business, you either lead, follow, or get out of the way'.

'If you are not going to lead, or are not capable, then move over,' he says.

This is just the kind of straight talk one would expect from a self-described 'basic guy'; one who believes that if you treat people well, communicate what you want, hire the best people (those with good attitude and aptitude), you are creating a win-win situation. You benefit, your people benefit and the company benefits.

This fits in with FedEx's PSP (people-service-profit) philosophy. According to PSP, customer satisfaction and service excellence begins with satisfied employees, and satisfied customers spell profits for the company.

Mr Cunningham says his business philosophy is based in large part on basic common sense, as well as the confidence to make mistakes.

'Its okay to make wrong decisions occasionally. Because if you don't, then you are not pushing hard enough. You learn from those mistakes,' he says.

His biggest accomplishment has been to successfully establish FedEx's business culture in the Asia-Pacific region, where the company is now a market leader.

Part of the FedEx culture includes grooming local hires for key management positions. About 65 per cent of managing directors and officers are local or regional people, he says.

'They grew up with FedEx, and they are purple-blooded. If you cut them, they bleed purple. They have been immersed in PSP culture, and they know what FedEx is trying to accomplish.'

As if to confirm suspicions that somewhere beneath the surface lurks a type-A, Mr Cunningham, an avid golf fan, admits to having had a 'lifestyle imbalance' six or seven years ago.

At the time, he was working 100-hour weeks, was overweight and was getting no exercise. Presumably, the schedule and accompanying lifestyle did not go down well with his wife and two children.

He looked hard at himself and what he was doing and decided he had to prioritise. He began to make time for the important things in his life.

'I now spend a lot of time with my family,' he says.

He still takes care of business, however. To the credit of FedEx's senior management, no staff have been retrenched despite Sars and the economic downturn. This has been achieved through what Mr Cunningham describes as 'active management of the situation', which includes particulare care on hiring.

As for the region's economic woes, he is confident the blip will pass and that prospects for Hong Kong will be very bright.

'We are at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, which has been a gateway to China. Hong Kong has to re-define its role with the mainland.

'It must figure out how to add value. There are airports and seaports in the mainland, and there will be more.

'China is catching up fast, so Hong Kong has to move fast,' he says.

Mr Cunningham believes that Hong Kong has a role as an international city that operates to, and above, international standards.

It must observe best practices, follow new business models and consolidate in order to compete.

In business, someone is always coming up with a better and cheaper way to do something or provide a service or product. That person will take away your business, he says.

FedEx operates about 660 aircraft and has 160,000 employees around the globe, servicing 24 countries with and 24- and 48-hour delivery.

It is the largest provider in the world of transportation, logistics, e-commerce and supply-chain management services.



FedEx boss shows how to take fast route to the top