Adam Selipsky named as new AWS CEO

Selipsky previously worked for AWS between 2005 and 2016, so can be considered a safe pair of hands

Amazon has named Salesforce executive Adam Selipsky as the next CEO of AWS.

Selipsky will succeed long-time AWS head Andy Jassy, who is set to take over from existing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos when the e-commerce giant's founder steps down later this year.

Selipsky will join AWS on 17^th May and will spend a few weeks with the current CEO in a transition period before taking over.

In an email to Amazon employees, Jassy said that Selipsky will bring strong judgment, team building, customer obsession, and rich CEO experience "to an already very strong AWS leadership team."

Selipsky previously worked for Amazon, from 2005 to 2016. During his tenure, Selipsky rose to become VP of support, sales and marketing, working closely with Jassy to help build out the cloud-computing unit. He also led the team that created the first visual interface for AWS.

He left AWS in 2016 to become the CEO of data-analytics firm Tableau, which Salesforce acquired in 2019 for more than $15.7 billion (£11.5 billion).

Tableau's annual revenue rose from $826.9 million (about £603 million) to $1.2 billion (£850 million) under Selipsky's leadership, as the company transformed from a desktop software firm into one based in the cloud.

Selipsky retained his job after Tableau's acquisition and became a member of Salesforce's Executive Leadership Team.

In his email to Amazon employees, Jassy pointed out that AWS is still in the early stages of "what's possible," with cloud services currently accounting for less than five per cent of the global IT budget. He said the situation will change significantly in the coming years, and that AWS should remain ready to grab all opportunities.

"We have a lot more to invent for customers, and we have a very strong leadership team and group of builders to go make it happen," Jassy added.

In 2019, Gartner estimated that Amazon accounted for 45 per cent of the global cloud market - more than any other company, including Google, Microsoft and IBM.

Commenting on Selipsky's, Nick McQuire, chief of research (enterprise) at CCS Insight, said: "On first glance, hiring Selipsky to replace Jassy is a surprising call given that many expected this to be an inside job. But in reality, few AWS execs have the raw CEO experience of running a hyper growth technology business.

"Selipsky fits this bill, of course, but the fact that he has extensive experience of the AWS 'secret sauce' culture as well makes him an obvious bet.

"One of the big challenges Selipsky faces is how well he manages, along with Jassy, the inevitable bumps in the road facing Amazon with issues like anti-trust, workers' rights and employee activism on the rise. The good news is, as an AWS alumnus, Selipsky will be considered a safe pair of hands which will reassure customers and help maintain trust in the AWS brand, which is crucial in light of these issues ahead."