Amazon.com Inc. veteran executive Dave Clark, who oversaw the consumer business that includes the online retail operation, is stepping down.
“To all I’ve
had the honor of working with: thank you for making it so much fun to come to
work every day for 23 years to invent cool, amazing things for customers,” Clark
tweeted on Friday.
Clark’s departure signals that Chief
Executive Officer Andy Jassy is looking for changes in the company’s consumer
division, which overbuilt during the pandemic and left Amazon saddled with
excess warehouse space.
The company
spooked investors in April after reporting a weak profit outlook, and Amazon
has since begun looking to sublet millions of square feet of warehouse space,
Bloomberg has reported.
“The past
few years have been among the most challenging and unpredictable we’ve faced in
the history of Amazon’s Consumer business, and I’m particularly appreciative of
Dave’s leadership during that time,” Jassy said in a statement. “As we shared
last week during our annual shareholder meeting, we still have more work in
front of us to get to where we ultimately want to be in our Consumer business.
“To that
end, we’re trying to be thoughtful in our plans for Dave’s succession and any
changes we make. I expect to be ready with an update for you over the next few
weeks.”
Clark grew up with Amazon, rising through the ranks to become CEO: Worldwide
Consumer, which put him in charge of the e-commerce business that is the
company’s primary revenue source but has often struggled to be profitable.
Clark was
among senior executives whose compensation package was singled out by
investment advisory firms who argued his pay should be better tied to company
performance. Clark, who last year took charge of Amazon’s retail and logistics
business, was paid $56 million in 2021.
Clark became
consumer chief amid a series of departures after Jeff Bezos ceded the CEO role
to Jassy in 2021. Clark’s predecessor, Jeff Wilke, left Amazon last year.
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG