I posted this message on LinkedIn about a week after I left AWS and Amazon (January 12, 2022). It was popular (185 comments, 1565 likes, and 203,755 views). I do not own my posts on LinkedIn, so I'm leaving it here for posterity.
After 7 years and 9 months of adrenaline pumping fun, last week was my final at #Amazon and #AWS. It truly is bittersweet.
When I first arrived at Amazon, it was a magical place. I had never experienced an environment like it. In a few days, I was at the center of industry-defining projects on Redshift like Z-indexing with SDEs, PEs, and VPs. No one cared of my title or level, and neither theirs. Everyone checked their titles and egos at the door, rolled up their sleeves, and got to work. Everyday.
I often describe Amazon as the world’s largest and greatest startup. We worked for customers. But we also had the freedom to do things first and ask for permission later. Oftentimes, we built things previously unimagined to show that it can be done. For me, that was Glue (#awsglue), Lake Formation (#lakeformation), COVID Lake, #OpenSearch, and more. We still work on things that are big, difficult, and risky; otherwise, it’s not worth doing. And after all these years with 10x the scale, Amazon remains magical. Don’t ever lose that.
I am grateful for this experience. I often joke, only Amazon could take an entrenched researcher, reform him into a GM, and trust him to run fast growing and large businesses. I am grateful for the chance. I am grateful to those that took me under their wing to show me how. I am grateful for the world-class people that helped to make it happen.
I'm retiring my badge in classic LinkedIn style, and I'm off to my next adventure.
When I first arrived at Amazon, it was a magical place. I had never experienced an environment like it. In a few days, I was at the center of industry-defining projects on Redshift like Z-indexing with SDEs, PEs, and VPs. No one cared of my title or level, and neither theirs. Everyone checked their titles and egos at the door, rolled up their sleeves, and got to work. Everyday.
I often describe Amazon as the world’s largest and greatest startup. We worked for customers. But we also had the freedom to do things first and ask for permission later. Oftentimes, we built things previously unimagined to show that it can be done. For me, that was Glue (#awsglue), Lake Formation (#lakeformation), COVID Lake, #OpenSearch, and more. We still work on things that are big, difficult, and risky; otherwise, it’s not worth doing. And after all these years with 10x the scale, Amazon remains magical. Don’t ever lose that.
I am grateful for this experience. I often joke, only Amazon could take an entrenched researcher, reform him into a GM, and trust him to run fast growing and large businesses. I am grateful for the chance. I am grateful to those that took me under their wing to show me how. I am grateful for the world-class people that helped to make it happen.
I'm retiring my badge in classic LinkedIn style, and I'm off to my next adventure.
