Amazon is losing a key figure from its leadership ranks just days after unveiling a slate of new devices.
Rob Williams, vice president of device software and services and a member of the company’s elite S-team advising CEO Andy Jassy, is stepping down from his post and will retire from Amazon at the end of the year, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.
“Rob has had a big impact on the software and experiences of nearly all of the products we’ve created and shipped,” said Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior vice president of devices and services, in the memo.
Panay added that Williams decided to retire from the company but will remain an advisor to him and continue serving on the S-team through 2025.
As part of a restructuring, Panay announced that several teams within the devices and services division will be consolidated, including moving the Alexa Smart Vehicle team into the broader Alexa group.
Tapas Roy, who previously oversaw Fire TV product and engineering, has been promoted to Williams’ former role.
Williams, a 12-year Amazon veteran, joined the 29-member S-team in late 2022 — a group regarded internally as one of the company’s highest leadership circles with direct access to Jassy.
He attended Amazon’s annual devices showcase in New York earlier this week, where the company introduced new Echo smart speakers, color Kindle e-readers, and upgraded Fire TVs.
In a LinkedIn post, Williams said he had been planning his exit throughout the year and stayed on through the recent product launches. He did not disclose his plans after leaving Amazon.
His departure comes as Amazon’s devices and services unit continues to face profitability challenges, with multiple rounds of layoffs and a slow rollout of its new generative AI-powered Alexa.
The company is also transitioning its Fire tablets to Android-based operating software and introducing its proprietary Vega operating system, which Williams touted on LinkedIn as offering “faster speeds at lower prices.”
“No one else has anything like it,” he wrote of Vega, which will debut in new Fire TV devices later this month.
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