Jeff Blackburn, whose 22-year career at Amazon culminated in a role overseeing the company’s streaming efforts, ended his one-year sabbatical and announced his retirement from the company.
The news, which came via a memo, published the company’s intranet, the content of which was first reported by GeekWire, was not unexpected. The CEO, who was a close adviser to Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, announced his plan for a one-year sabbatical in the summer of 2019. The leave began in early 2020.
As SVP Business and Corporate Development, Blackburn manages Prime Video, Amazon Studios (now managed by Jennifer Salke), and the company’s music, advertising, and third-party businesses. In early 2020, former Hulu, Sony and Fox CEO Mike Hopkins moved to Amazon in a senior role that handled much of Blackburn’s board and reported directly to Bezos.
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In his memo to colleagues, Blackburn writes: “I’m not retiring and will have news soon about what’s next for me.” Bezos responded by noting that Blackburn ‘kept me going in the course of its next chapter, and I can assure you it’s a very exciting one!’ He adds: ‘I predict Jeff will be just as great in his new role as in all of his roles at Amazon. Easy prediction. Congratulations, Jeff. ‘
The speculation about who Bezos would succeed as CEO touched Blackburn and other senior executives, such as former retail chief Jeff Wilke, who finally announced his plan to leave the company next month. Another longtime Bezos lieutenant got the lead role: Andy Jassy, head of Amazon Web Services, is taking the reins of Bezos this summer, with the founder still executive chairman.
While Blackburn’s domain has grown into a number of operations, there is still some uncertainty about the company’s plans to streamline. It is undoubtedly a colossal force in the world of entertainment. Its streaming device Fire TV serves more than 50 million homes and Prime Video is taking aggressive actions in acquiring and releasing high-profile projects. Amazon is already a partner with the NFL and is seen as a potential candidate to make a play for exclusive rights Thursday night Soccer in the league’s ongoing negotiations on long-term licenses. Talks are expected to reach an agreement within the next few weeks.