Will We Ever Know the Real Jeff Bezos?
Despite his storied career and 25-plus years on the public stage, the soon-to-be-ex Amazon CEO remains a cipher
Jeff Bezos’ surprise announcement last week that he will step down as Amazon CEO, transition to its executive chairman, and focus on newspapers, rockets, philanthropy, and, perhaps, finding more outlets for that explosive laugh, leaves a hole in the digital realm.
Bezos has gone from being one of the most admired CEOs in America to someone looked upon by some sectors of the general public with deep distrust. I know people who are so worried about what data Amazon gathers about its customers and about its labor practices that they’ve tried to pull back on Amazon purchases, though the pandemic and stay-at-home orders have made this damn-near impossible.
I remember a 2013 meeting with a small group of tech journalists (myself included) for a product launch where Bezos was asked if he was the next Steve Jobs. Bezos seemed flattered but quickly noted that Jobs, who’d died two years prior, had his own unique approach and vision (and by implication, so did Bezos), and “no one would ever be the next Steve Jobs.”
Despite his side gigs in building a giant millennial clock and Blue Origin, his private space company, I contend that…
