London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

From Hitting Bezos With Stick to Replacing Him as CEO: What We Know About New Amazon Boss Andy Jassy

From Hitting Bezos With Stick to Replacing Him as CEO: What We Know About New Amazon Boss Andy Jassy

While the first encounter between the outgoing and incoming CEOs of Amazon was arguably not ideal, this did not stop Bezos from seeing potential in Andy Jassy, who made a number of proposals that turned out to be significant for the company.

Amazon's long-time CEO Jeff Bezos announced back in February 2021 that he would be stepping down from his post and instead observe the company's activities as executive chair of the board. He is set to be replaced on 5 July, the 27th anniversary of Amazon, with the head of its fastest-growing divisions, Andy Jassy, stepping in to manage the company's day-to-day operations.

Here is what we know about the new CEO of the US tech giant:

Unfortunate Encounter With Bezos and Significant Proposals for Company


Jassy joined Amazon in 1997, when the then-online book retailer was only preparing for its initial public offering (IPO). The Harvard University and Harvard Business School graduate bumped into the company's founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, during a session of the company's favourite competitive sport, "broomball". He accidentally hit his boss over the head with a paddle that is used to play the game. Bezos, however, bore no hard feelings and despite what was perhaps not the smoothest introduction, he repeatedly promoted the Harvard graduate in the subsequent years.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos during the JFK Space Summit at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Wednesday, June 19, 2019


Andy Jassy's rapid rise through Amazon's ranks was apparently well-deserved, as he was the author of several ideas that the company greatly profited from. He was namely behind the proposal to add CD and DVD sales to the company's portfolio. Possibly his most successful pitch happened in 2003: after reviewing the causes of the lengthy development time for new apps, Jassy proposed establishing a cloud service for sharing data in order to speed up the process. This service was then sold to other companies and later became known as Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The new Amazon CEO led the AWS division and under his leadership, it became one of the top contributors to the company's massive profits. AWS generated $4.2 billion, or 46%, of the company's operating income in the first quarter of 2021 alone. This is 32% more than in 2020, when the online giant was enjoying a boom in demand due to the COVID pandemic. The latter also contributed to the success of AWS, as many online platforms, which have also been in high demand with people stuck at home, operate based on AWS cloud infrastructure.

The Man Who Will Defend Amazon


While the new Amazon CEO has not yet made any public statements on what changes the company can expect in the near future, one task looms on the horizon for Andy Jassy – to defend the company in the face of government scrutiny and recent criticism from the general public.

Amazon landed in the government's crosshairs over allegations that it had not been paying its fair share in taxes. Criticism of the company has intensified in light of scandals around the alleged mistreatment of its own workers. The accusations began as claims that the tech giant was controlling every move made by its employees working at its warehouses, while allegedly only paying the bare minimum. The allegations evolved further over the course of the pandemic year 2020.

The company fired several of its employees in April over failing to follow recommendations linked to COVID-19, but the former workers claimed that the sacking was revenge for their protests against poor working conditions. The situation was further worsened by the publication of a report claiming that Amazon delivery drivers were in such a crunch that they had to urinate in bottles in order to meet their quotas.

The new CEO will apparently have to deal with lingering PR scandals and threats of probing the company for potential violations. It is possible, however, that Jassy will be more transparent when engaging these issues. In the past, he has not shied away from commenting on his social media on a number of high-profile social issues: the killing of Breonna Taylor by police in 2020, the high incarceration rate in the country, and the perceived racial bias associated with it.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×