Amazon has appointed Alex Dunlap, a 17-year veteran of Amazon Web Services, as its new shadow advisor. This quasi-chief of staff position is one of the most desirable jobs at the company, with former shadow advisors including Jeff Bezos and Amit Agarwal going on to hold top positions.
Dunlap joins Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s meetings almost every day and will be responsible for supporting the company’s renewed focus on business applications, also known as software as a service. This area is crucial for AWS, which has market-leading cloud infrastructure services but needs to build a strong presence in the lucrative SaaS market.
Dunlap comes from his current role as vice president of productivity apps and replaces Eric Rimling, who was Jassy’s shadow advisor since January 2023. The appointment coincides with Amazon’s efforts to improve its business applications and expand into new areas such as AI development tools and call center applications.
The company has made significant investments in these areas, including the launch of Bedrock, an AI development tool, and Connect, a call center application. However, not all initiatives have been successful, such as WorkDocs, a file-storage app that failed to gain much traction.
As Dunlap takes on his new role, Amazon’s focus on business applications is likely to continue under his guidance. With his extensive experience in AWS, Dunlap is well-positioned to support Jassy and the company’s efforts to grow in this area.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-shadow-advisor-alex-dunlap-2025-1