Good morning! Hershey gets a bid for its business, Lara Trump’s next move, and an Amazon exec is trying to build the company’s first true applications business. Have a lovely Tuesday.
– All about Amazon. When Colleen Aubrey joined Amazon in the U.K. almost 20 years ago, she worked with sellers of used books, DVDs, and video games. As she helped grow the U.K. market’s share of units available on Amazon from the single digits to about 30%, she got a piece of advice from Eric Broussard, a longtime Amazon exec who was around for the company’s earliest days.
“If I focused on developing a reputation for being able to deliver great results, then many opportunities would come my way at Amazon,” Aubrey remembers Broussard telling her. “You just want to be the first person people thought of for a new problem to solve or a new mountain to climb. And I think he was right.”
In the years that followed, Aubrey moved to Amazon’s Seattle headquarters and rose in the ranks of its ads business, culminating in a role as SVP of advertising products and tech. In 2019, she was added by Jeff Bezos to Amazon’s famed S-team, its group of senior leaders, now numbering 29. And earlier this year she took on a new role as SVP for AWS solutions, which builds business applications, some of which Amazon already uses internally. Its most successful product so far is Amazon Connect, a customer service support system.
AWS is, of course, already critical for many businesses’ computing and cloud capabilities, but Aubrey’s portfolio aims to build enterprise solutions for businesses on top of that, competing with everyone from Microsoft and Google to new AI applications. Her goal and that of CEO Andy Jassy is for Amazon “to be mission critical to how companies run their businesses each day with applications where…you don’t have this fragmentation of your tools that you use day to day.”
Her mandate in this new role is broad, crossing everything from enabling secure work for businesses in the age of AI; to tools for the life sciences, adding to Amazon’s HealthOmics platform; to supply chain logistics for businesses; to additional applications of Amazon’s “just walk out” technology used in its grocery stores.
“What kept me here is that I don’t know if there’s more than a six-month period that went by where I didn’t have a new opportunity to go after, a new business to get started with, a new team to be working with,” Aubrey says. “My responsibilities kept evolving, and the opportunities kept coming.”
Aubrey is originally from Australia and moved to the U.K. and then the U.S. to pursue her career ambitions. “I was not working in a competitive enough environment in Australia,” she says. “I was doing too much time swimming, riding my bike and drinking wine, watching the sailing, and not enough time really challenging myself to be the best that I could be in my work.”
Her new leadership role is helping to scratch an itch she’s had since she was in her 20s: to become a CEO. “In this current role, it’s really on me,” she says. The biggest question, she says is a simple one: “Are we going to be able to build a credible applications business or not?”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Diddy fallout. The rapper and businessman Shawn Carter, known as Jay-Z, has been accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old girl with Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2000. An anonymous accuser says in the lawsuit that she was assaulted by both men at an after party for the MTV Video Music Awards. Carter has strongly denied any role and called the allegations “idiotic” and “heinous in nature.” NBC
- Sweet deal. Oreo and Cadbury manufacturer Mondelez is considering making an offer to buy Hershey, combining the two candy companies. Shares of Hershey, led by president and CEO Michele Buck, jumped as much as 15% yesterday morning, setting the company up for its best day since 2016. CNBC
- Trump world. Donald Trump picked his defense attorney Alina Habba, who was at his side through his hush-money trial, to serve as counselor to the president, the role held by Kellyanne Conway during Trump’s first term. In other Trump family news, Lara Trump is stepping down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee. There is speculation that she may be picked to fill an upcoming vacancy in the Senate.
- On board. Companies with greater gender diversity on their boards deliver higher shareholder returns than male-dominated boards. Data revealed that, in developed markets, companies in the top 20% for female representation on their boards returned 2% to 5% more than the 20% of companies with the fewest women board members. Bloomberg
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Taproot, a business and social sector connector, appointed Cat Ward as CEO. Most recently, she was VP of Jobs for the Future; she was previously Taproot’s senior advisor to the CEO.
LTC Properties, a real estate investment trust focused on seniors housing and health care properties, appointed Wendy Simpson as executive chairman of its board of directors; Pam Kessler as co-CEO; and Cece Chikhale as CFO. Currently, Simpson is the company’s CEO. Kessler is LTC’s co-president and CFO. Chikhale is the company’s chief accounting officer and controller and treasurer.
Global Gaming Women, an organization for women in the gaming industry, named Pamela Buckley EVP. Most recently, Buckley was executive director of casino VIP services and Fontainebleau rewards at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Mouser Electronics, a semiconductors and electronic components distributor, named Kristin Schuetter to SVP of products. Previously, she was the company’s vice president of products.
Common Sense Media, an entertainment and technology rating provider for parents, named Edda Collins Coleman VP of communications. Previously, she was a principal at Axiom Advisors.
Cordial, an enterprise marketing automation platform, appointed Chelsea Williams as VP of people and culture. Most recently, Williams was head of people experience at Reachdesk.
Think Shift, a marketing agency for agricultural brands, named Kristi Spence VP of strategy. Spence was previously SVP of marketing communications at Dairy West.
J.Crew Group named Julia Collier CMO of the J.Crew brand. Most recently, she was SVP of marketing at Skims.
Community Health Plan of Washington, a nonprofit health insurance provider, named Betsy Jones chief strategy officer. She was most recently a managing principal at Health Management Associates.
Xavier Creative House, a creative agency for the healthcare industry, appointed Nicole Markley as director of operations. She most recently served as director of finance and administration at Storylink Creative.
ON MY RADAR
From pumping gas to Elon Musk’s boss: Inside Robyn Denholm’s rise to the top Forbes Australia
A feminist director takes on the erotic thriller New Yorker
Paris and Nicole, revisited Glamour
PARTING WORDS
“I want to thank every single one of you for being a part of the most thrilling chapter of my entire life to date.”
— Taylor Swift to her fans at the last performance of the Eras Tour
