Amazon names new retail CEO

Amazon has named a new CEO of its retail arm just weeks after the previous CEO announced he would be resigning. Doug Herrington, a 17-year company vet, is set to become CEO of Amazon’s worldwide stores business, Amazon leader Andy Jassy announced in an email posted to the company’s website.

Herrington has a lot of experience in Amazon’s consumer business, as noted in Jassy’s email; Herrington “joined the company in 2005 to build out our Consumables business, launched AmazonFresh in 2007, and in 2015, took on leading all of our North American Consumer business,” Jassy wrote.

But he’ll have a tough road ahead, as Amazon’s growth has slowed after surging during the pandemic, and according to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Jassy has spent a lot of time working to shore up issues with the company’s retail and logistics operations. There is a bright spot in the near term, though: it seems likely the company will have another banner day of deals with the upcoming Prime Day in July.

Herrington follows Dave Clark, who announced his resignation on June 3rd. Clark’s resignation will be effective July 1st. He’ll be taking over as CEO at Flexport, a company that makes supply chain software, on September 1st.