FedEx Freight CTO absorbs commercial role amid shakeup

FedEx Freight CTO absorbs commercial role amid shakeup

Tue, September 15, 2026 at 7:31 PM GMT+3 2 min read

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Dive Brief:

• FedEx Freight expanded the remit of CTO Michael Rodgers, who will now serve as chief commercial and technology officer, the company said in a Monday statement.

• Rodgers, who joined FedEx Freight in 2025, will report to FedEx Freight President and CEO John Smith, the company said in an email to CIO Dive. In his new role, effective immediately, the executive will oversee sales, customer experience, marketing and communications in addition to leading the tech organization.

• The move comes two weeks after the company terminated EVP and Chief Specialized Services and Commercial Officer Michael Lyons, after an internal probe determined the executive committed a code of conduct violation, FedEx Freight reported in a Sept. 2 securities filing. The company declined to provide further comment on Lyons' departure in an email to CIO Dive.

Dive Insight:

The latest leadership move at FedEx Freight indicates a close tie between technology and commercial operations as the company enters the next stage of operations after its spinout from FedEx, which was completed in June.

Rodgers brings expertise bridging technology and customers to the role, including within key areas such as revenue growth, digital products, data and enterprise transformation. The executive most recently served as EVP, chief technology and chief information officer at Pilot Company.

During the company's fourth quarter, which ended May 31, the company successfully executed a technology separation plan from its former parent company, Smith said during an earnings call in June.

Two key technology priorities lie ahead for the company, Smith told investors: the responsible deployment of AI "across the entire organization to drive efficiencies," and the modernization of legacy systems in order to streamline the existing tech stack.

The company plans to continue to work on its data foundation, a key component of enterprise AI adoption plans.

"We've also initiated foundational cleanup on our data, which will improve billing accuracy and reduce the friction in that area," Smith said. "We also now have dedicated customer support teams focused solely on [less-than-truckload], and we have a clear concise road map to modernize our back-office systems."

The company reported Q4 revenues of $2.4 billion, a 4.8% year-over-year increase that the company attributed to higher fuel surcharges and increased weight per shipment.

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