Amazon’s most-profitable business leader steps down, read CEO Jassy’s email to staff

Amazon’s cloud computing giant, Amazon Web Services (AWS), is undergoing a leadership change as Adam Selipsky steps down from his role as CEO next month. In an email to employees, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that Matt Garman, the current head of sales and marketing for AWS, will be taking over the reins.

AWS is a crucial part of Amazon’s business, generating over 60% of its operating income and fueling the company’s ability to invest in other areas. The cloud unit recently reported its strongest sales growth in a year and is on track to surpass $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time. Despite facing competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, AWS is making strides with a multi-billion dollar revenue stream for their generative AI operations.

Jassy praised Garman for his customer focus, product leadership, and problem-solving skills, highlighting his strong set of skills and experiences for the new role. Garman, who started his career at Amazon as an MBA intern, has been with AWS since 2005 and has risen through the ranks to become one of the unit’s first product leaders.

Selipsky, who was Jassy’s right-hand man during AWS’s early days, left Amazon in 2016 but returned three years ago. Garman’s appointment may come as a surprise to some AWS employees who expected him to take the top job earlier. The news caused a slight dip in Amazon’s share price, but the stock is still up over 20% year-to-date.

Overall, the leadership change at AWS is a significant development for the company and its future direction in the competitive cloud computing market.