Amazon Names New Head Of Logistics, Retail Operations
Amazon has named a new head of its logistics and retail business, tasking the executive who launched Amazon Fresh 15 years ago with charting the e-commerce giant's gargantuan worldwide real estate footprint.
Doug Herrington was named CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores Tuesday, replacing Dave Clark, who resigned earlier this month as the CEO of what was then called the company's Worldwide Consumer division. Herrington will oversee the company's 23M SF brick-and-mortar footprint, as well as the hundreds of millions of square feet of logistics space Amazon operates.
“[Herrington] is a builder of great teams and brings substantial retail, grocery, demand generation, product development, and Amazon experience to bear,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement Tuesday. “He’s also a terrific inventor for customers, thinks big, has thoughtful vision around how category management and ops can work well together, is a unifier, is highly curious, and an avid learner.”
Amazon also named John Felton head of operations for Amazon Stores, replacing Herrington. An 18-year Amazon veteran, Felton headed up Amazon's global delivery services group. Both Felton and Herrington were part of former CEO Jeff Bezos' S-Team, a group of high-level executives that helped with strategic decisions.
Shortly after his resignation, Clark was named CEO of supply chain software maker Flexport. The head of Amazon's warehouse network, Alicia Boler Davis, is also leaving the company, Recode reports.
The personnel changes are the latest moves by Jassy since taking over the CEO reins from Bezos last July. Jassy has been focused on pulling back on the rampant logistical growth and e-commerce initiatives during the height of the pandemic while also attempting to reverse slumping sales, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Bloomberg first reported last month that Amazon was poised to sublease up to 30M SF of leased warehouse space in markets like New York, New Jersey, Atlanta and Southern California, opening a door for other e-commerce players to gain valuable logistical market share.
