Jeff Bezos' new 'shadow' adviser at Amazon is a female executive of Chinese descent
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has a new "shadow" adviser, a role that's highly coveted inside the company because it involves following around the billionaire founder for a year or two and learning all aspects of the business.
The position is now held by Wei Gao, a female executive of Chinese descent, whose LinkedIn profile says she's had the role of "VP, Technical Advisor to CEO" since July. Gao, only the second female to shadow Bezos, replaced Jeffrey Helbling, who was named technical adviser in early 2017. CNBC learned of the change from two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because they're not authorized to speak for the company.
Gao, who was most recently a vice president of forecasting, has filled various roles during her 13 years at Amazon, including senior positions in the Kindle and inventory planning teams.
The shadow job, which entails sticking by Bezos' side and accompanying him to all of his meetings, often portends good things for those who are picked. Maria Renz, who left the position in 2017, is now vice president of delivery experience. Other high-profile shadows from the past include Andy Jassy, now CEO of Amazon Web Services, Greg Hart, vice president of of[sic] Prime Video, and Dilip Kumar, vice president of Amazon Go.
The richest man in the world (on paper) casts a big shadow.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 21 2018, @06:26PM (4 children)
Could be. How much talent and skill is needed to throw things into an oversized box, finish filling the box with air bags, and affix an address label?
I look at a job like this, and wonder whether the person doing the job really likes the smell of shit, or he's just sticking out the suck-up phase of his job.
"Oh, yes sir, Mr. Bezos. Of course, Sir. You're the best, Mr. Bezos." Stroke that ego hard enough, and you're rewarded with a nice office and a cushy job.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @06:29PM
Happy ends for everyone involved.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @07:45PM (2 children)
Do you really think there's nothing a value a CEO does which can be learned faster this way than by trial and error?
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 21 2018, @08:33PM (1 child)
Do you really think there is no way to learn, unless you choose between trial and error, or sucking up to top management?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 23 2018, @02:47AM
I think that, for many but not all skills, shadowing an expert is more efficient and less prone to error than trying to have them write down what they know. Often experts can't explain all the subtle details because they've forgotten they're not obvious or simply do them without thinking.