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CEO Adam Selipsky AmazonThe head of its cloud computing business will step down from his position next month, the company announced. announced Tuesday.
Matt Garman, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Amazon Web Services, will replace Selipsky, who retired on June 3, Amazon said.
In a memo to employees, Mr. Selipsky said he was leaving AWS after about 14 years to spend more time with his family and said “the future is bright” for the giant cloud business.
“Given the business and management situation, now is the right time for me to make this transition, an opportunity to spend more time with my family for a while, recharge a little and create some mental free space. This is a good time to consider and consider the possibilities.” Selipsky wrote.
In a separate memo, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote that Mr. Selipsky had “masterfully led the business” and that Mr. Garman, an 18-year veteran of the company, “is excited to step into his new role.” “He has the extraordinary and strong skills and experience that make him a good fit.”
After Amazon announced in 2021 that Jassy would take over the reins from Jeff Bezos as Amazon’s CEO, many speculated that Garman would succeed Jassy as head of AWS. did. Instead, Amazon appointed Mr. Selipsky, who was CEO at the time. sales forceData visualization software maker Tableau, owned by , took on that role.
During Mr. Selipsky’s three years as CEO, AWS has faced a number of business challenges, including a noticeable slowdown in revenue growth as rising interest rates caused businesses to reduce their cloud spending. AWS has undergone at least two layoffs since last year as part of broader layoffs, resulting in more than 27,000 employees being laid off.
At the same time, we had to respond to a surge in demand for generative artificial intelligence services, primarily driven by factors such as: microsoft-Supports OpenAI. Under Mr. Selipsky, Amazon invested $4 billion in Anthropic, a startup founded by former OpenAI employees. As part of the deal, Anthropic designated AWS as his “primary” cloud provider and agreed to use AWS’s custom-built AI chips.
The company’s dominant position in the cloud is also being threatened by Microsoft’s rapidly growing Azure cloud business. In 2021, when Mr. Selipsky replaced his Mr. Jassy, ​​analysts estimated his Azure size was about 61% of his AWS size. Now he’s closer to 77%. Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in his OpenAI, and its Azure cloud provides computing resources to startups.
AWS remains the cloud leader and remains one of Amazon’s most profitable business units. Operating profit for the most recent quarter was $9.42 billion, about 62% of Amazon’s total.
Selipsky’s compensation in 2022 was $41.1 million, of which $40.7 million came from stock compensation, according to the company. Securities registration statement. He did not receive a stock grant this year.
For Jassy, ​​this marks the departure of a recent high-profile executive. Amazon’s head of devices, Dave Limp, left the company in August last year to join Bezos’ rocket venture Blue Origin. Chris Vonderhaar, vice president of AWS, said: announced his retirement Meanwhile, the executive overseeing Amazon’s Alexa and hardware research and development group left in October 2022.
—CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this report.