Quick Facts
Biography
Kenneth A. May is a Memphis, Tennessee native, former CEO of FedEx Office, and chairman of the March of Dimes' board of trustees. In November 2011, he was appointed COO of Krispy Kreme. In July 2014, Ken became President and CEO of Topgolf International, Inc.
Personal life
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, May attended Harding Academy in Memphis. A graduate from the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee, May holds a master's degree in business administration from the latter.
May's father was a general contractor who had become the head Federal Housing Administration inspector in Memphis, Tennessee. May later described his father as a perfectionist, somebody who believed in craftsmanship, and whose constancy left an indelible mark on his son. May would later draw upon his father's integrity and diligence while performing as CEO of FedEx Kinko's and CEO of Topgolf.
May's wife Tosha gave birth to their daughter Alexa 12 weeks prematurely. The 2-pound (0.91 kg) baby was kept in a neonatal intensive care unit for three months. May and his wife credit March of Dimes research with their daughter's survival.
Philanthropy
A "long-time" volunteer for the March of Dimes, May was elected to their national board in 2004, chaired the annual WalkAmerica fundraiser in Dallas in 2006, and was elected the foundation's chairman of the board of trustees on June 18, 2007.
Career
UPS
May began his career as a part-time supervisor at the United Parcel Service (UPS) and worked there for three years. Since May had no intention of becoming a UPS truck driver—a prerequisite for full-time work with the company—with his college degree, he instead interviewed with FedEx's Memphis hub and became a night-shift supervisor. Shipping 162,000 packages his first day, May never intended to stay with the company, expecting to only be there six months.
FedEx
After joining FedEx in 1982 as a night-shift supervisor, May received a total of 13 promotions. Over the years, May served the company as the senior vice president of the domestic ground operations division of FedEx Express (where he managed 60,000 employees and oversaw all US operations), as well as senior vice president of their air-ground and freight services division.
Kinko's
In 2002, Kinko's chief executive officer (CEO) Gary Kusin tried to hire May to become his chief operating officer (COO), an offer the latter declined. Coincidentally, May would become the CEO of the faltering company in January 2006, after FedEx bought the chain of stores in 2004. During his two-year tenure, May experimented with the chain's formula: changing stores' sizes, formats, and merchandise, as well as implementing "a kind of hub-and-spoke system [where] one large store would handle big print jobs for surrounding small ones." When May took the reins of FedEx Kinko's, the 22,000-employee company had a turnover rate of 80 percent; two years later, in January 2008, turnover was down to 18 percent, and complaints had fallen by 65 percent.
May described his style as "based on being courageous enough to be bold", which included admitting mistakes and caring about people. Priding himself on his personable relationships with the chain's employees, May wrote upwards of 25–50 notes a week congratulating employees on birthdays, promotions, new babies and achievements.
In early 2006, May was the subject of a TIME article titled "People to Watch In International Business" in which author Jeremy Caplan opined that the 45-year-old May "won't reprint his résumé anytime soon." Kenneth May resigned as CEO of FedEx Office effective March 31, 2008 after a falling out with the corporation over future strategy of the copy chain; replacing May was his COO, Brian Philips. After the announcement, FedEx shares fell $1.77, or about 2 percent.
Krispy Kreme
On 28 November 2011, May became COO and president of Krispy Kreme.
Topgolf
In July 2013, May joined Topgolf as its Chief Operating Officer. In July 2014, he was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer.