As one of the five big US companies in information technology besides Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple. Amazon is a multi-national technology company focusing on cloud computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and digital streaming. It is a vast online enterprise selling different kinds of goods either directly or through a middle man for their customers numbering in millions. Here, let’s know about Amazon Executives.
Amazon’s story is one of the biggest success stories in current history. It was founded back in 1994 as an online marketplace for selling books with the promise of selling any book to any reader in the world. Amazon owes much of its success to the people who executed and managed the company’s growth in the last few years.
Origin
Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos who used to be a hedge fund executive in Wall Street previously. He chose books as the most logical products to be initially sold online. He wanted Amazon to be a technology company that would simplify all the online transactions besides being the retailer of consumer products.
Amazon faced much criticism and competition. All of this didn’t stop Bezos who was aware of the true potential of the Internet. His initial strategy to ‘grow big fast’ was useful since Amazon very quickly started selling more things than books. Be it music, videos, electronics, software, games, video game, or other items, Amazon started selling all kinds of products.
The above image is of Jeff Bezos in front of the Amazon logo
Executives
The top executive of Amazon are:
- Jeff Bezos
- Andy Jassy
- Brian T. Olsavsky
- David H. Clark
- Shelley L. Reynolds
- David A. Zapolsky
- Adam N. Selipsky
- Daniel P. Huttenlocher
- Keith B. Alexander
- Jamie S. Gorelick
- Indra K. Nooyi
- Patricia Q. Stonesifer
- Judith A. McGrath
- Jonathan J. Rubinstein
- Wendell P. Weeks
- Thomas O. Ryder
1. Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos of Jeffery P. Bezos is the founder of Amazon. He was previously the President and the Chief Executive Officer or CEO, and currently is the Executive Chairman of Amazon. It was his key role and guidance that made Amazon the largest retailer on the World Wide Web besides being the model for Internet sales.
Jeff Bezos graduated with a BSE degree in computer science and electrical engineering summa cum laude from Princeton University. Amazon was founded in his garage in Seattle as a virtual bookstore named after the South American river. Currently, he is the richest man on earth with a net worth of about $200.1 billion.
Besides being an important person in Amazon’s success, he also founded Blue Origin and owns The Washington Post and Bezos Expeditions, and co-founded Altos Labs.
Blue Origins is a private spaceflight or aerospace company that was founded back in 2000 to develop rockets for commercial use. It is based in Kent, Washington, and is creating history after successfully both launching and landing a reusable rocket. It aims to send tourists to space with its reusable rocket and is currently developing a lunar lander, Blue Moon, for delivering robotic cargo to the moon.
Bezos Expeditions is an American investment company that mostly handles Jeff Bezos’ family office by managing his investments. Bezos bought the American daily newspaper, The Washington Post, back in 2003. The Altos Labs is a much recent biotechnology company that he co-founded with Yuri Miller.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in Bezos’ wealth by $24 billion all due to people purchasing products online by staying home during the quarantine. He also is well known for his philanthropic deeds, the most recent one being the $100 million donations to the food banks with the help of Feeding America in 2020.
2. Andy Jessy
Andy Jessy or Andrew R. Jessy is an American businessman and the current Director and Chief Executive Officer or CEO of Amazon since July 2021. The cloud computing platform called Amazon Web Services was founded and let by him as its Chief Executive Officer or CEO from 2016 to 2021 before he held his current position. He has an AB from Harvard College. He also worked as an advertising manager for The Harvard Crimson and later got an MBA from Harvard Business School.
He joined Amazon back in 1997 and was reportedly Jeff Bezos’ first ‘shadow’ advisor that is a corporate chief of staff who follows the CEO and sits in all of the CEO’s meetings. After acting as Bezos’ shadow and intellectual sparring partner, Jessy is more than prepared for his new responsibilities and challenges. His net worth is about $500 million.
3. Brian T. Olsavsky
Brian T. Olsavsky is the Senior Vice President and the Chief Financial Officer or CFO of Amazon since 2015. He joined Amazon back in 2002 and served as the Vice President, Finance, and CFO for Global Consumer Business before his current position. He also used to work in Fisher Scientific and BF Goodrich and Union Carbide in the past. He has an undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University along with an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
His current responsibilities include overseeing the financial activities of Amazon that including investor relations, tax, controllership, financial operations, analysis, internal audit, and treasury. His net worth is about $10.2 million.
4. David H. Clark
Dave Clark or David H. Clark is the CEO of Worldwide Consumer in Amazon since January 2021. He has held many key roles in Amazon since he joined back in 1999. Some of those roles are as follows:
- Senior Vice President Worldwide Operations
- Vice President Worldwide Operations
- Vice President Global Customer Fulfillment
- Vice President North America Operations
He did his graduation from the University of Tennessee with an MBA besides had gotten a Bachelor’s Degree from Auburn University in Music Education. His current responsibilities are for leading worldwide operations as well as customer service. His net worth is about $1.2 million.
5. Shelley L. Reynolds
Shelly L. Reynolds is the Vice President and World Wide Controller of Amazon. She has been the Principal Accounting Officer in Amazon since 2007. Ms. Reynolds worked as a Partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP and was has also been the Director of Audible Inc. since 2008. She got her undergraduate degree from the Michael G. Foster School of Business and is still a part of its advisory board.
Her responsibilities include overseeing the accounting function of Amazon and leading the team that is a part of all places where the company operates. Her net worth is about $22.3 million.
6. Adam N. Selipsky
As the current CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy left his last position he chose Adam Selipsky, who used to be his right-hand man as his replacement. Adam Selipsky left Amazon to become the Chief Executive Officer or CEO and President of Tableau for five years. He came back recently to fill the position of CEO or Chief Executive Officer of Amazon Web Services.
He was also an executive at RealNetworks and a Principal at Mercer Management Consulting before joining Amazon. He has a Bachelor’s degree in government besides getting an MBA from Harvard University. His net worth is about $36 million.
7. David A. Zapolsky
David A. Zapolsky is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Amazon since 2014 before he was the Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary since 2012. He was a Partner at Dorsey and Whitney and Bogle & Gates in Seattle. He has also been the Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office besides practicing law in Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.
Zapolsky not only did his undergrads from Columbia University in music but also a JD with honors from the University of California, Berkeley. His net worth is about $21.3 million.
8. Keith B. Alexander
General Keith Alexander or Keith Brian Alexander has been a director of Amazon since 2020. He is the President and Chief Executive Officer or CEO of IronNet Cybersecurity since 2014, soon after his retirement from being a four-star general in the US Army. He also used to be the Commander of US Cyber Command, Director of National Security Agency, and Chief of Central Security Service.
He has an MSc. In Business Administration from Boston University as well as an MSc in Physics and System Technology from Naval Postgraduate school. His net worth is about $1.5 million.
9. Daniel P. Huttenlocher
Daniel P. Huttenlocher started being a director in Amazon in 2016. He is the dean of Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing at MIT or Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked for various positions at Cornell University and was the Dean and Vice President of Cornell Tech from 2012 to 2019. He has been the director of Corning Incorporated since 2015.
He did his undergrads from the University of Michigan but both his master’s and doctorate from MIT. His net worth is about $4.73 million.
10. Jamie S. Gorelick
Jamie S. Gorelick is an American lawyer and a director of Amazon since 2012. She has been the Deputy Attorney General of the US back in the 90s and a partner at WilmerHale and Dorr LLP since 2003. She has also held different government positions like Assistant to the Secretary of Energy, member of the bipartisan National Commission on Terrorist Threats upon the US, and Counsel of the Department of Defense.
She has a bachelor’s magna cum laude from Radcliffe College of Harvard University and a JD cum laude from Harvard Law School. Her net worth is about $23.5 million.
11. Indra K. Nooyi
Indra K. Nooyi or Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi is a director of Amazon since 2019. As an Indian-born American businesswoman, she used to be the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer or CEO of PepsiCo. She is also a member of the board of the International Cricket Council.
She got her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Madras, her Master’s from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, and her MBA from the Yale School of Management. Her net worth is about $ 290 million that includes her in the list of the most powerful women in the world.
12. Judith A. McGrath
Judith Ann McGrath became a director of Amazon in 2014. She used to be the Chief Executive Officer or CEO and Chair of MTV Networks Entertainment Group. She had to oversee channel networks like Nickelodeon, Logo, MTV, VH1, TV Land, MTV2, and Comedy Central.
She did her undergrads in English from Cedar Crest College. Her net worth is about $10.6 million.
13. Patricia Q. Stonesifer
Patty Stonesifer or Patricia Q. Stonesifer became a director of Amazon back in 1997. She is the Chief Executive Officer and President of the non-profit Martha’s Table. She has held various roles in the Microsoft Corporation like Interactive Media Division’s Senior Vice President. She also used to be the Chairwoman of Gates Learning Foundation as well as the Chief Executive Officer or CEO and the Co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mrs. Stonesfer graduated from Indiana University and has received honorary doctorate degrees from various universities like Indiana University and Trinity University. Her net worth is about $23.1 million.
14. Jonathan J. Rubinstein
Jon Rubinstein or Jonathan J. Rubinstein became a director of Amazon back in 2010. He is an electrical engineer who was part of the development of iPod and iMac as used to be the Apple’s iPod Division’s Senior Vice President. He also used to be a director of Qualcomm Incorporated, Chief Executive Officer or CEO of Palm, and an executive of HP.
He did his Bachelor’s and Master’s from Cornell University in electrical engineering as well as an MS from Colorado State University in computer science. His net worth is about $194 million.
15. Wendell P. Weeks
Wendell P. Weeks became a director of Amazon back in 2016. He is the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer or CEO of the board of directors in Corning Incorporated.
He did his undergrads from Lehigh University in accounting and finance and got an MBA from Harvard Business School. His net worth is about $55.7 million.
16. Thomas O. Ryder
Thomas O. Ryder has been a director of Amazon since 2002. He used to be the CEO or Chief Executive Officer and Chair of Reader’s Digest Association Inc. He held different positions in American Express.
He got his Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in journalism. His net worth is about $43.2 million.
Conclusion
The executives of Amazon are all influential people from the US who excelled in their respective fields. The lower levels function efficiently and bring forth the growth and profit of the company only when they are properly monitored and managed by the upper level of executives. Much of Amazon’s success is due to its executives’ proper guidance and efforts.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is the current CEO of Amazon?
Andy Jassy replaced Jeff Bezos as the CEO of Amazon in July 2021.
2. What is Amazon’s worth?
Amazon is currently worth about $1.7 trillion.
3. Where is the headquarters of Amazon situated?
The headquarters of Amazon is located in Seattle, Washington, US.
