Doug Herrington, a veteran of Amazon’s consumer business, will be promoted to the new role of CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores following the departure of top consumer exec Dave Clark.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced the news Tuesday in a message to employees.
Jassy said Amazon will unify its operations organization under another longtime executive, John Felton, who will report to Herrington in the new structure.
Clark, who was CEO of Amazon’s Worldwide Consumer business, announced his surprise departure on June 3, with his last day scheduled for July 1. He is leaving to become CEO of logistics company Flexport.
Amazon’s consumer business has been struggling financially, after the company added more workers and warehouse capacity than it ultimately needed in response to the pandemic. Jassy told shareholders last month that he was “confident we’ll get back to a healthy level of profitability in our consumer business.”
The company didn’t give a specific reason for changing the title from CEO of Worldwide Consumer to CEO of Worldwide Stores with the transition.
Jassy said in his message that he’s optimistic about the long-term future of Amazon’s stores business. He reiterated Amazon’s assertion that it represents about 1% of total retail sales globally, with 85% of the worldwide market still in physical stores.
“If you believe that equation will change over time (which I do), there’s *a lot* of potential for us as we continue to be laser-focused on providing the best customer experience (broadest selection, low prices, fast and convenient delivery) while working on our cost structure to have the right long-term business,” he wrote.
Others reporting to Herrington under the new structure, according to the message, will be Russ Grandinetti (International Stores), Christine Beauchamp (North America Stores), Tony Hoggett (Physical Stores), Dave Treadwell (eCommerce Foundation), Neil Lindsay (Pharmacy/AmazonCare/Healthcare), Dharmesh Mehta (Selling Partner Services), Peter Larsen (Buy with Prime), and Pat Bajari (Chief Economist).
