Panos Panay, the former chief product officer in charge of Microsoft’s Windows & Devices business, will join Amazon at the end of October as the leader of the company’s Devices & Services business, including Alexa and Echo.
Amazon confirmed the news Wednesday morning in internal emails from CEO Andy Jassy and the current Devices & Services leader, Dave Limp, who was announced Monday as the new CEO of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture.
Bloomberg News originally broke the news of Panay’s new role last week, after Microsoft announced his departure.
Panay will become a member of Amazon’s senior leadership team, known internally as the “S-Team,” according to Jassy’s email, which the company posted online. Limp will work with Panay “over the next couple months to ensure a smooth transition,” Jassy added.
“As a strong product builder and inventor who has deep experience in both hardware and integrated services, Panos will be a great addition to our D&S organization moving forward,” the Amazon CEO wrote.
Limp added in his own message, “I’ve known Panos for years, and believe he will be a great addition to this organization moving forward. He is a passionate product leader and I can’t wait to see what all of you invent together.”
Non-compete agreements, confidentiality and trade secrets have been a recurring issue when executives have moved between Amazon and Microsoft in the past. Contacted by GeekWire today, representatives of the companies declined to say if they came to an agreement over Panay’s new role.
Amazon and Microsoft are increasingly competing in artificial intelligence, mainly as extensions of their cloud businesses, as demonstrated most recently by Amazon’s investment of up to $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic this week. At the same time, AI is a growing focus of Microsoft’s Windows division and Amazon’s Devices & Services business, as reflected in Amazon’s products announcements last week.
