What just happened? Amazon chief Andy Jassy has confirmed that Panay will be joining the e-commerce giant at the end of October to lead its devices and services business. Panay will replace Dave Limp, who is scheduled to retire later this year, and will report directly to Jassy.
Bloomberg was first to report on the rumored hire more than a week ago. It was announced in August that Limp would be retiring from Amazon in the near future following more than 13 years with the company. In announcing his decision, Limp at the time said he was not sure what the future holds but he knows it will not be in the consumer electronics space.
Panay has spent nearly the last 20 years of his life with Microsoft and helped the tech titan launch its Surface line of products. Last week, however, Panay announced he had decided to leave Microsoft – or as he put it, turn the page and write the next chapter.
Limp will work with Panay over the coming months to help ensure a smooth transition, we're told.
Jassy said he is excited about what the D&S division is cooking up and looks forward to working with Panay. Limp said he has known Panay for years, and believes he will be a great addition to the company.
Once the transition is complete, Limp will start his new job as CEO of Blue Origin according to a recent report from CNBC. Blue Origin is the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Per CNBC, Limp will replace Bob Smith effective December 4 although Smith will hang around for about a month to help Limp get the hang of things.
It'll be interesting to see what Panay does with Amazon, a company that has gone all in on its Alexa personal assistant and streaming devices. We also can't help but wonder what will become of Astro, the home robot from 2021 that some devs said wasn't fit for release.
https://www.techspot.com/news/100304-microsoft-vet-panos-panay-heading-amazon-lead-devices.html
