Amazon names new AWS CEO; Adam Selipsky to replace Andy Jassy

Amazon announced on Tuesday, March 23, that it had assigned Adam Selipsky to be its Amazon Web Services new chief executive officer. He will effectively replace Andy Jassy, who is stepping down to be Jeff Bezos’ successor as the company’s head.

Selipsky is now confirmed to lead Amazon’s cloud computing unit, and it was reported that he is already very familiar with the company and its AWS division since he actually worked here in the past.

The new AWS chief background

As per Reuters, Selipsky was one of the first vice presidents who was hired in AWS in 2005. At that time, he managed the division's marketing, sales and provided overall support to the team for 11 years.

He left Amazon and, in 2016, became the CEO of Salesforce’s Tableau Software unit, an American cloud-based software company headquartered in California. With his dedication to work in the company, he is being credited for increasing its value by almost four times in just a few years.

Now he is returning to Amazon on May 17 as Jassy is set to leave his post to take on a higher job post. In any case, the AWS platform is being used by various companies, including startups and big corporations, and with Selipsky’s leadership, it is hoped that the division will grow further.

“Adam brings strong judgment, customer obsession, team building, demand generation, and CEO experience to an already very strong AWS leadership team,” Andy Jassy wrote in Amazon’s blog. “And, having been in such a senior role at AWS for 11 years, he knows our culture and business well.”

Why Selinky's leadership was sought by Amazon

CNBC reported that although Selipsky was not working in the company when he was hired again, his name has been listed as one of the top candidates to replace Jassy. This is not only because he already held a major job role in the company, but it is because he also has a good relationship with the incoming Amazon CEO.

Finally, Adam Selipsky is said to be considered a rising star due to his big contributions to Salesforce after it acquired Tableau. Its CFO, Mark Hawkins description of Selipsky also says it all as to why he is a “star” in the business world.

“It’s a best-in-class, unique asset in the world. Great leadership team, great CEO with Adam Selipsky and the management team,” he said in December last year.