Amazon Org Chart: A Look Inside
Amazon.com, Inc.
410 Terry Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109-5210
United States
Main Phone: (206) 266-1000
Website: https://www.aboutamazon.com
Industry Sector: Consumer. Internet Retail
Full Time Employees: 1,560,000
Fiscal Year End: December 31
Annual Revenues: $650.31
CEO: Andy Jassy, President, CEO & Director
Fortune 500 Rank: #2 in 2025
Amazon operates under a hybrid organizational structure, blending hierarchical and functional elements with a strong emphasis on decentralization and innovation. This structure supports its vast scale, diverse business units, and customer-centric philosophy. The company’s leadership principles—such as "Ownership" and "Invent and Simplify"—shape its organizational design, fostering agility despite its size.
Executive Leadership & Centralized Functions
At the top, Amazon’s leadership is anchored by CEO Andy Jassy and a senior executive team overseeing core functions like technology (AWS), e-commerce, and operations. The company maintains centralized corporate functions—finance, legal, HR, and global operations—to ensure cohesion across its sprawling business lines. However, decision-making is largely decentralized, empowering teams to act independently.
Amazon S-Team
The S-Team (Senior Leadership Team) is Amazon’s core decision-making group, composed of top executives who report directly to CEO Andy Jassy. This small, influential team oversees critical company-wide strategies, ensuring alignment with Amazon’s leadership principles and long-term vision. Members include leaders of major divisions like AWS, Worldwide Stores, and Operations, as well as key functional heads (e.g., Finance, Legal). The S-Team operates with a high degree of collaboration, addressing cross-company initiatives, innovation priorities, and operational challenges. Unlike traditional corporate boards, the S-Team embodies Amazon’s decentralized culture—empowering leaders to drive execution while maintaining cohesion across the business.
Divisional Structure: Business Units & Subsidiaries
Amazon organizes its operations into distinct divisions, each functioning as a semi-autonomous unit with its own leadership, P&L responsibilities, and operational focus. Major divisions include:
- North America & International Consumer: Handles e-commerce retail operations, split by geographic regions.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS): The cloud computing division, led as a separate entity due to its scale and profitability.
- Operations & Logistics: Encompasses fulfillment centers, last-mile delivery, and supply chain innovations like robotics.
- Subsidiaries & Acquisitions: Whole Foods, Prime Video, Alexa, and Kuiper (satellite internet) operate with varying degrees of integration.
This divisional model enables Amazon to scale rapidly while allowing leaders to "think small"—focusing on niche markets or innovations without bureaucratic delays.
Two-Pizza Teams & Decentralization
A defining feature of Amazon’s structure is its reliance on small, cross-functional teams ("two-pizza teams," small enough to be fed by two pizzas). These teams operate like startups, owning specific products or features end-to-end. This approach minimizes bottlenecks and aligns with Amazon’s "Day 1" philosophy of maintaining a startup mindset.
Innovation & Operational Rigor
While divisions operate independently, Amazon enforces rigorous operational standards. The "Working Backwards" process—where teams start with press releases and FAQs to define products—ensures alignment with customer needs. Centralized data and metrics (like the "Flywheel" strategy) keep teams accountable, even in a decentralized system.
Challenges & Adaptations
Amazon’s structure isn’t without friction. Rapid growth has led to occasional siloing, and its high autonomy model demands strong leadership at all levels. Recent efforts to streamline costs (e.g., layoffs in 2022–2023) reflect adjustments to macroeconomic pressures while preserving core innovation mechanisms.
Summary
Amazon’s hybrid structure—centralized oversight with decentralized execution—has been instrumental in its dominance across industries. By balancing scale with agility, the company sustains innovation while optimizing operational efficiency. Its org chart is less a rigid hierarchy and more a dynamic network of empowered teams, all driven by customer obsession.
Source Links:
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/amazon-s-team-members
https://www.databahn.com/products/amazon-org-chart-and-sales-intelligence-report
https://ir.aboutamazon.com/annual-reports-proxies-and-shareholder-letters/default.aspx
https://s2.q4cdn.com/299287126/files/doc_financials/2025/q1/Webslides_Q125-FINAL.pdf
