Today, Doug Herrington and Neil Lindsay shared the following messages with Amazon employees.
A note from Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Stores, Amazon
I'm writing to share a leadership update. After more than 15 years at Amazon—and five years establishing a strong foundation for our healthcare business—Neil Lindsay has decided to step back from his work at Amazon to pursue personal projects and advisory roles.
I want to thank Neil for his significant contributions to Amazon and our customers—from leading global marketing for Kindle, to expanding the reach and impact of multiple devices, Prime and Marketing, and most recently building the solid foundations of an AI-enabled healthcare business. Under his leadership, we went from early experiments in healthcare to a business serving millions of customers through Amazon Pharmacy, One Medical, Health AI, Health Benefits Connector and more. He built the team, shaped the strategy, and earned the trust of customers, clinicians, and partners along the way.
Over the last several months, Neil has led the search for a successor, and we are excited to share that Dr. Roy Schoenberg will join us as the new leader of Amazon Health Services, effective July 1. Roy is a physician, entrepreneur, and pioneer of digital healthcare—having co-founded and led Amwell, one of the world’s leading telehealth companies for nearly two decades. He brings a rare combination of clinical expertise, technology vision, and experience building healthcare businesses at scale. Neil will work with Roy to transition responsibilities over the summer, and will remain available in an advisory capacity through the end of 2026. I’m looking forward to working with Roy to continue to build and innovate in our healthcare business.
Doug
Over the last several months, Neil has led the search for a successor, and we are excited to share that Dr. Roy Schoenberg will join us as the new leader of Amazon Health Services, effective July 1. Roy is a physician, entrepreneur, and pioneer of digital healthcare—having co-founded and led Amwell, one of the world’s leading telehealth companies for nearly two decades. He brings a rare combination of clinical expertise, technology vision, and experience building healthcare businesses at scale. Neil will work with Roy to transition responsibilities over the summer, and will remain available in an advisory capacity through the end of 2026. I’m looking forward to working with Roy to continue to build and innovate in our healthcare business.
Doug
A letter from Neil Lindsay, SVP, Amazon Health Services
Team -
As you saw from Doug’s note, I have some news. Over the coming months, I will be stepping away from Amazon after what will soon be 16 extraordinary years. It’s the kind of decision that doesn’t come easily, and I want to take a moment to say it clearly, in my own words, and with the gratitude it deserves.
I joined Amazon in 2010, and I’ve had the privilege of growing alongside the company, through roles in Devices, leading Prime and Marketing globally, and eventually into the work I'm most proud of: helping build Amazon’s presence in healthcare. That work has been the most meaningful work of my career, and today I feel something close to wonder at all we have built together, and all the opportunity still ahead.
As you saw from Doug’s note, I have some news. Over the coming months, I will be stepping away from Amazon after what will soon be 16 extraordinary years. It’s the kind of decision that doesn’t come easily, and I want to take a moment to say it clearly, in my own words, and with the gratitude it deserves.
I joined Amazon in 2010, and I’ve had the privilege of growing alongside the company, through roles in Devices, leading Prime and Marketing globally, and eventually into the work I'm most proud of: helping build Amazon’s presence in healthcare. That work has been the most meaningful work of my career, and today I feel something close to wonder at all we have built together, and all the opportunity still ahead.
What we built
I won’t pretend the road has been easy. Healthcare is an industry that has resisted disruption longer than almost any other, for understandable reasons. It is complex, it is personal, and the stakes are measured in human lives. Getting it right, with urgency, matters. As we often say... as fast as possible, and as slow as necessary.
What I’m most proud of isn’t a single product or partnership—it's the foundation we have built. A genuine commitment to the patient at the center of every decision. A team that brings intellectual honesty and creativity to problems that have stumped many for decades. An organizational belief that technology, when applied with humility and rigor, with humans at the center, can make people’s lives better—not just more convenient.
I leave the foundation in your excellent hands. And, I’m thrilled that starting July 1, Dr. Roy Schoenberg will join Amazon as the new leader of Amazon Health Services. Roy is, quite simply, one of the most accomplished healthcare leaders of his generation. He's a physician, an entrepreneur, and a pioneer of digital health. He co-founded Amwell in 2006 and spent nearly two decades as its CEO, building it from a startup into one of the world's leading telehealth platforms—partnering with the nation's largest health systems, national payers, and public health agencies along the way.
But what excites me most about Roy isn't his resume—it's his conviction. He believes, as I do, that healthcare should be fundamentally easier for people. He believes technology and clinical excellence aren't in tension—one helps the other. And he brings the rare combination of clinical credibility, technological vision, and operational experience needed to take what we've built, to improve on it, and to scale it into something that changes how hundreds of millions of people experience healthcare. I will work closely with Roy and all of you over the coming months to ensure a seamless transition. I have never been more confident in where this business is headed. Amazon Health’s next chapter will be worth watching.
What I’m most proud of isn’t a single product or partnership—it's the foundation we have built. A genuine commitment to the patient at the center of every decision. A team that brings intellectual honesty and creativity to problems that have stumped many for decades. An organizational belief that technology, when applied with humility and rigor, with humans at the center, can make people’s lives better—not just more convenient.
I leave the foundation in your excellent hands. And, I’m thrilled that starting July 1, Dr. Roy Schoenberg will join Amazon as the new leader of Amazon Health Services. Roy is, quite simply, one of the most accomplished healthcare leaders of his generation. He's a physician, an entrepreneur, and a pioneer of digital health. He co-founded Amwell in 2006 and spent nearly two decades as its CEO, building it from a startup into one of the world's leading telehealth platforms—partnering with the nation's largest health systems, national payers, and public health agencies along the way.
But what excites me most about Roy isn't his resume—it's his conviction. He believes, as I do, that healthcare should be fundamentally easier for people. He believes technology and clinical excellence aren't in tension—one helps the other. And he brings the rare combination of clinical credibility, technological vision, and operational experience needed to take what we've built, to improve on it, and to scale it into something that changes how hundreds of millions of people experience healthcare. I will work closely with Roy and all of you over the coming months to ensure a seamless transition. I have never been more confident in where this business is headed. Amazon Health’s next chapter will be worth watching.
Why now
I took on this role almost five years ago without any healthcare background. I'd come from a career in technology, marketing, and ten years of building consumer businesses at Amazon—Kindle, Devices, Prime, and Marketing. What I brought to this work was a deep belief in working backward from the customer, and a conviction that the mechanisms Amazon had built to simplify other parts of people's lives could be applied to the one area that remained stubbornly, unnecessarily complex for our customers: healthcare.
But I also knew from the beginning that building a healthcare business would require something else. It would require finding extraordinary people—clinicians, operators, technologists, and leaders—who understood healthcare deeply and could help us earn the trust that this space demands. My job was to assemble that team, create the conditions for them to do their best work, to stay relentlessly focused on our mission and the customer experience we were trying to build, and then to step back. Now is the right time to step back and pass the baton to a leader who knows how to navigate the next phase of this journey better than I. I’m excited to do so.
As for me, I’m stepping into a season I’ve been looking forward to for some time. I have personal projects I’ve been putting off for too long. I also plan to take on advisory roles with companies working to address the challenges of healthcare and the opportunities ahead of us with technology.
To the Amazon Health Services team: thank you. I look forward to working with Roy and you all to ensure a smooth transition over the coming months. The problems we have been trying to solve are the right problems. Keep going.
With gratitude,
Neil
But I also knew from the beginning that building a healthcare business would require something else. It would require finding extraordinary people—clinicians, operators, technologists, and leaders—who understood healthcare deeply and could help us earn the trust that this space demands. My job was to assemble that team, create the conditions for them to do their best work, to stay relentlessly focused on our mission and the customer experience we were trying to build, and then to step back. Now is the right time to step back and pass the baton to a leader who knows how to navigate the next phase of this journey better than I. I’m excited to do so.
As for me, I’m stepping into a season I’ve been looking forward to for some time. I have personal projects I’ve been putting off for too long. I also plan to take on advisory roles with companies working to address the challenges of healthcare and the opportunities ahead of us with technology.
To the Amazon Health Services team: thank you. I look forward to working with Roy and you all to ensure a smooth transition over the coming months. The problems we have been trying to solve are the right problems. Keep going.
With gratitude,
Neil
