Jeff Wilke, head of Amazon's consumer business, plans to retire in the first quarter of 2021. He will be replaced by Dave Clark, Senior Vice President, Global Operations.
The announcement was made in a security notification filed on Friday morning and in memos sent to employees by CEO Jeff Bezos and Wilke.
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"I don't have a new job and I'm as happy and proud of Amazon as ever," wrote Wilke, who also goes by the nickname "JAW", in his memo and later added: "So why go? It's just time. Time for Dave Clark to step in as CEO Worldwide Consumer and lead the organization ... time for me, to take time to explore personal interests that have faded into the background for over two decades. "
Wilke joined Amazon in 1999 when the e-commerce giant was only five years old and started out as operations manager. He rose to leadership roles in corporate and consumer business and was named CEO of Global Consumer Business in 2016.
Clark also joined Amazon in 1999. He was named Head of Operations in January 2013 and currently oversees the company's global supply chain, delivery, customer service, physical deals, prime and marketing.
The changing of the guard is notable as Wilke is one of only three people at Amazon with a CEO title alongside Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, and Bezos, CEO of the entire company. These 2016 CEO titles for Jassy and Wilke made them both potential heirs to Bezos when he eventually stepped down. Although Bezos won't retire at 56.
Additionally, the global consumer business is by far Amazon's largest business with ecommerce warehouses and delivery networks around the world. While Clark has been with the company for as long as Wilke, a change in leadership will still be necessary.
"Jeff's legacy and impact will live on long after he leaves. He's just one of those people without whom Amazon would be completely unrecognizable," Bezos wrote in his memo.
Bezos also said he added three new employees to his top team of executives called the S-Team. You're Alicia Boler Davis, who runs the company's fulfillment centers. John Felton, who helps run delivery services; and Dave Treadwell, part of the ecommerce tech team. Bezos added more women to this group after years of criticism for the S-Team being dominated by men.
