All eyes on Amazon's incoming CEO Andy Jassy - not short for Anand Jaswinder

Andy Jassy has been instrumental in turning the global retail giant into a dominant technology leader in infrastructure cloud computing and making the AWS name synonymous with cloud.

Tenzin Pema

Kanishk Singh

Thursday February 04, 2021 , 4 min Read

Good morning,

When Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos announced he would be stepping down as CEO later this year to assume the role of Executive Chairman, one almost expected him to name an Indian-origin tech executive as his successor.

After all, it has become de rigueur to have an Indian-origin executive named to the top job at global technology majors.

Microsoft did that in 2014, when it named Satya Nadella, an Indian-American, to succeed Steve Ballmer as CEO. Google followed suit a year later when the search giant named Sundar Pichai, another Indian-American, to head Alphabet and its subsidiary Google.

To be clear, America’s most influential tech companies — from Microsoft and Google to IBM and Adobe — all, have Indian-origin leaders at the helm.

And yet, Andy Jassy, the man Bezos named as CEO-designate, is not of Indian origin and neither is his name short for Anand Jaswinder (in case you were wondering).

Andy, in fact, is a long-time Amazon veteran, who as Bezos wrote in his letter to employees “is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have.”

When Andy assumes office as Amazon CEO in the third quarter of this year, he will become the second CEO in the company’s 27-year history.

As the founder and CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud computing business which accounts for more than half of the company's overall profits, the significance of Andy’s contribution to Amazon’s growth and the potential of the company's cloud division is surely not lost on anyone.

Today, AWS is synonymous with the cloud and regarded as a pioneer and leader in the cloud computing infrastructure market — feats Andy achieved in his 23-year-long journey with Amazon with a relentless focus on reinvention, people, and customers.

Indeed, Andy who shares the same core values as Jeff Bezos is expected to ensure strong continuity when he takes over the wheel at one of the world’s most disruptive companies today.

As Jeff wrote in his letter, “He (Andy) will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.”

The Interview

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a massive blow to small businesses, many of whom had to cut their losses and digitise themselves instantly to survive. Many establishments looked towards Union Budget 2021 for relief, and according to Harsh Pokharna, Co-founder and CEO of OkCredit, the Budget will empower small businesses and the MSME ecosystem with measures, such as the adoption of digital payments and setting aside Rs 15,000 crore for MSMEs.

Editor’s Pick:

How Spice Money is creating financial awareness and generating employment in rural India

With the advent of digitisation, digital banking and fintech services have proved to be a boon for rural India. Empowering lower-tier cities, rural areas, and underserved communities, fintech startup Spice Money provides financial services such as money transfer, cash deposit, mini ATMs, insurance, etc., to local traders, retailers, agriculture workers, and migrants. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

AxleWeb Technologies builds chatbots for global businesses from India's hinterland

From ordering food to shopping online, chatbots and AI assistants have taken over the brand-consumer interaction. Based in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, AxleWeb Technologies is a web development company that helps brands launch chatbots on their social media platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Slack etc. Read more.

News & Updates

For the first time ever, BSE Sensex closed above the historic 50,000-mark as the stock markets continued to reel in post-Budget gains with domestic equities attracting the positive global cues.

The government issued a notice directing Twitter to remove certain objectionable content and accounts which were 'spreading misinformation' around farmer protests. It also warned the micro-blogging platform that the failure to comply with the order may invite penal action.

Spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace has entered into a non-disclosure agreement with the Department of Space (DoS), and will get access to facilities and technical expertise available in ISRO centres for its launch vehicle development programme.

Bharat Biotech has inked a pact with Ocugen Inc to co-develop, supply, and commercialise COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, an advanced stage whole-virion inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate, for the US market.

Though cryptocurrencies are yet to be considered as legal tender, the government informed the Rajya Sabha that it is looking to explore the use of blockchain technology proactively for ushering in the digital economy.