Amazon exec Dave Limp to join as CEO of Blue Origin
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San Francisco: Outgoing Amazon’s devices and services chief Dave Limp is joining Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin as CEO, replacing Bob Smith.
Limp will join Blue Origin, starting December 4 as CEO and Smith will step aside on January 2 "to ensure a smooth transition", Bezos said in an email to Blue Origin employees. Limp joins Blue Origin at a key phase of the company’s multiple space projects.
In a statement to CNBC, a Blue Origin spokesperson praised Limp as “a proven innovator with a customer-first mindset” who has “extensive experience in the high-tech industry and growing highly complex organisations”.
Limp, head of Amazon devices and services who has been with the company for nearly 14 years, confirmed in August that he was stepping down. Panos Panay, Microsoft’s former Windows and Surface chief, is reportedly joining Amazon to oversee its hardware business.
Panay is likely to run Amazon’s division for its Alexa and Echo speakers. Blue Origin won a $3.4 billion NASA contract earlier this year to build a lunar lander for the US space agency’s astronauts.
