America’s CEO Factory?

There was a good article in the WSJ last week examining how Amazon has become an executive training ground. According to CEO recruiters, “like GE in its heyday, Amazon is viewed as a so-called ‘academy company’ where leaders are groomed.”

Amazon obviously has a strong culture that drills managers on its leadership principles, and this is one of the reasons the WSJ ranked Amazon as the #1 best-managed company in the US (Microsoft was #2!). Companies today want executives with tech expertise, data-driven thinking, and the ability to be a disrupter, so Amazon is the perfect place to search for executive talent.

However, one thing I noticed in the WSJ’s list of Amazon alums was most of the alums left Amazon to take executive roles, rather than starting new companies. Ideas on why? Hit reply, and give me your thoughts!

‍