Andy Jassy usually starts his keynote at Amazon.com’s cloud-computing trade show with what amounts to a tedious infomercial for corporate software.
But the 53-year-old executive is no Bezos clone. Known for piercing questions that cut to the heart of the matter, he has a formidable radar for subordinates’ hyperbole. At the same time, he is unassuming and connects easily with colleagues. Moreover, unlike the sometimes single-minded Bezos, Jassy has long engaged with society outside Amazon’s walls.
It is unclear what Jassy might do differently in the CEO’s chair and, aside from endorsing Amazon’s preference for invention and big bets, he has been publicly quiet about his priorities. An obsessive fan whose tastes span guitar-heavy rock, East Coast jam bands and singer-songwriters, Jassy was passed over to be the first leader of Amazon’s CD business. He was crushed and considered quitting, he later recalled.
“He was someone who will tell you the truth,” said Ian Freed, a former Amazon executive who also worked as Bezos’s technical adviser. “He would say it in a thoughtful and respectful way: ‘Jeff, here’s what I saw in that meeting, and here’s why I think we should try it in a different way.’”
Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)