Footwear News: Who’s Amazon’s New CEO, Andy Jassy?

(Image Source: AP Photo/Isaac Brekken/John Locher)

The founder and longtime CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, officially handed his reign to Andy Jassy last week on July 5 2021, marking a new era for one of the world’s biggest companies. Here are four facts about this new CEO: 

1. He worked at Amazon for 24 years.

Jassy joined Amazon in 1997, just three years after its founding by Jeff Bezos.  In the year he had joined, Amazon had gone public, with Bezos sharing his long term vision for the company that holds true till today: a customer-centric focus, the pursuit of market leadership, and a “cost-conscious culture.”

2. He became the leader of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s primary profit driver.

Jassy climbed through the ranks to become Head of Amazon Web Services (AWS) before his CEO appointment. In 2020, this cloud computing division brought a record $13.5 billion in annual operating profits, accounting for 63% of Amazon’s total operating profits.

3. He is a detail-oriented, direct, and ambitious person.

Jassy’s subordinates say that his practice and approach in work require a high level of detail and thoughtfulness. This straightforwardness even extends to his relationship with higher management, including the former CEO Jeff Bezos.

According to a former Amazon executive, Ian Freed shared that Jassy “would say it in a thoughtful and respectful way: ‘Jeff, here’s what I saw in that meeting, and here’s why I think we should try it in a different way.’”

4. He will be responsible for navigating Amazon through regulatory challenges and critics of the company’s labor and environmental practices that await him.

Jassy has reaped success with AWS but Amazon will be soon going through hardship, given that the company is the subject of numerous antitrust probes and lawsuits aimed at some of its more controversial business practices. For that reason, apart from generating more revenue, Jassy would have to add new corporate values including improving working conditions for its warehouse workers and reducing their negative environmental impact.

Source: 4 Things to Know About New Amazon CEO Andy Jassy

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