Amazon's head of consumer business resigns

Amazon.com Inc. veteran executive Dave Clark, who oversaw the consumer business that includes the online retail operation, is stepping down.

“To all I’ve had the honor of working with: thank you for making it so much fun to come to work every day for 23 years to invent cool, amazing things for customers,” Clark tweeted on Friday.

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Clark’s departure signals that CEO Andy Jassy is looking for changes in the company’s consumer division, which overbuilt during the pandemic and left Amazon saddled with excess warehouse space.

The company spooked investors in April after reporting a weak profit outlook, and Amazon has since begun looking to sublet millions of square feet of warehouse space, Bloomberg has reported. 

Related: How Amazon is looking to streamline ad ID overload

“The past few years have been among the most challenging and unpredictable we’ve faced in the history of Amazon’s Consumer business, and I’m particularly appreciative of Dave’s leadership during that time,” Jassy said in a statement. “As we shared last week during our annual shareholder meeting, we still have more work in front of us to get to where we ultimately want to be in our Consumer business. 

“To that end, we’re trying to be thoughtful in our plans for Dave’s succession and any changes we make. I expect to be ready with an update for you over the next few weeks.”

Clark grew up with Amazon, rising through the ranks to become CEO: Worldwide Consumer, which put him in charge of the e-commerce business that is the company’s primary revenue source but has often struggled to be profitable.

Clark was among senior executives whose compensation package was singled out by investment advisory firms who argued his pay should be better tied to company performance. Clark, who last year took charge of Amazon’s retail and logistics business, was paid $56 million in 2021.

Clark became consumer chief amid a series of departures after Jeff Bezos ceded the CEO role to Jassy in 2021. Clark’s predecessor, Jeff Wilke, left Amazon last year.

—Bloomberg News