Just days after Amazon unveiled its latest lineup of devices at a high-profile event in New York, the company is losing a key executive from its devices and services division, reports Reuters.
Rob Williams, Vice President of Device Software and Services and a member of Amazon’s elite “S-team” that advises CEO Andy Jassy, is stepping down from his role and will leave the company entirely by the end of the year. His departure was disclosed in an internal memo sent Thursday and later confirmed by Amazon in response to a Reuters inquiry.
“Rob has had a big impact on the software and experiences of nearly all of the products we’ve created and shipped,” wrote Panos Panay, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services, in the memo. He described Williams’ decision as a "retirement from Amazon," though Williams' future plans remain undisclosed.
As part of the leadership transition, Panay announced a reorganization within the devices unit. Notably, the Alexa Smart Vehicle team will now be integrated into the broader Alexa group. Additionally, Tapas Roy, previously a Vice President responsible for Fire TV product and engineering, will assume Williams’ former role.
Williams, who joined Amazon 12 years ago and became part of the 29-member S-team in late 2022, will remain with the company as an advisor through the end of 2025, including continued participation in the S-team.
Departures from the S-team are uncommon, given its prestigious status and direct access to Amazon’s CEO. Williams’ exit underscores ongoing challenges within Amazon’s devices business, which has faced internal scrutiny over profitability and undergone multiple rounds of layoffs in recent years.
At Tuesday’s showcase, Williams appeared publicly as Amazon introduced refreshed Echo smart speakers, new Kindle e-readers with color displays, and upgraded Fire TV models. In a LinkedIn post following the event, he shared that he had been planning his exit for much of the year and stayed on to support the fall product launches.
Among the key announcements at the event was the debut of Vega, a new proprietary operating system developed by Amazon. The Vega OS will power upcoming Fire TV devices, including a new streaming stick launching later this month. The system is intended to replace Google’s Android-based software and promises faster performance at a lower cost.
“No one else has anything like it,” Williams wrote in his post, touting Vega as a major step forward in Amazon’s hardware strategy.
Despite ongoing innovation, the devices and services unit continues to struggle with profitability. Amazon’s multi-year initiative to embed generative AI into Alexa has progressed slowly, and its revamped Fire tablets—reportedly the first to run on Android OS—are still in development.
Williams’ departure adds to the uncertainty surrounding the future of Amazon’s consumer hardware ambitions, even as the company presses ahead with its next wave of smart home and entertainment products.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
