SEATTLE, WA - A major change has been announced in Amazon’s C-suite roster. Jeff Wilke, current Chief Executive Officer of Worldwide Consumer, has made known his coming retirement in 2021 in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated August 21.

In a memo to the Amazon staff obtained by The Washington Post, Wilke announced he will be staying on through this upcoming holiday season and will retire in the first quarter of 2021.

“Heading into my 22^nd holiday season at Amazon, I’m once more looking at the flannel shirts that fill my closet rack,” Wilke wrote in his memo. “This holiday with Amazon will be different in many ways. And it will be my last.”

Wilke, the 21-year Amazon veteran, has led the company’s consumer business side, overseeing its massive online marketplace that accounted for $88.9 billion in sales last quarter, stated The Washington Post.

It was believed by many that Wilke would be a potential successor to Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. The two have worked closely together since Wilke joined the company in 1999, four years after Amazon.com started selling books online. Wilke’s impression on the company has permanently shaped Amazon into the retail success it is known for today.

“Jeff’s legacy and impact will live on long after he departs,” Bezos wrote in another memo to the Amazon staff. “He is simply one of those people without whom Amazon would be completely unrecognizable.”

In the same earnings report, the company announced Dave Clark, Amazon’s current Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations, will be stepping in as the new Chief Executive Officer of Worldwide Consumer.

Clarke is set to succeed Wilke in the first quarter of next year. Also having joined the company in 1999, Clarke has sped up delivery times by expanding Amazon’s fleet of vans and jets, allowing it to rely less on UPS and the postal service.

Will this shift in responsibilities bring grocery more into Amazon’s spotlight? Keep reading ANUK as we learn more.

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