At Amazon, we have a passion for hiring MBA graduates. Here's why – we offer business school students the opportunity to work on big things in a startup environment. In return, Amazon benefits from MBAs' strong analytical skills and their sense of ownership.
As we prepare to onboard hundreds of business school graduates this summer, I wanted to share a few stories of our MBA grads' pioneering work at Amazon.
Launching one hour delivery.
When a bike messenger delivered the very first Prime Now package on a cold December day in Manhattan, the operations team declared success in their 111 day journey to launch a brand new one-hour delivery service. Led by Stephenie Landry (Ross, class of ‘04), Prime Now was a completely new venture for Amazon that would expand to dozens of cities within its first year and a half. Stephenie and team made their own playbook, including Stu Zurn (Wharton, class of ‘11), who created new standards across the logistics industry in expanding Prime Now worldwide. “We are executing on big goals in this space and it requires me to leverage the strengths and talents of my diverse team," Stu explains. "The work is complex and ambiguous and my business school education and time in the Navy have both prepared me well.”
When a bike messenger delivered the very first Prime Now package on a cold December day in Manhattan, the operations team declared success in their 111 day journey to launch a brand new one-hour delivery service. Led by Stephenie Landry (Ross, class of ‘04), Prime Now was a completely new venture for Amazon that would expand to dozens of cities within its first year and a half. Stephenie and team made their own playbook, including Stu Zurn (Wharton, class of ‘11), who created new standards across the logistics industry in expanding Prime Now worldwide. “We are executing on big goals in this space and it requires me to leverage the strengths and talents of my diverse team," Stu explains. "The work is complex and ambiguous and my business school education and time in the Navy have both prepared me well.”
Bringing new and better videos to Prime members.
For the last four years, Bryant Herron-Patmon (Ross, class of ’10) has been working to define the video experience for Amazon Video's customers. He started with the first iPad app for Amazon Video, and recently led the product management team for the launch of the “Streaming Partners Program” which brings third-party subscriptions (Starz, Showtime, and more) to Amazon Video. “Being part of the growth of Amazon Video has been an incredible opportunity,” said Bryant. “Over the last four years I’ve gotten to define and build a number of great products available to tens of millions of Prime customers."
For the last four years, Bryant Herron-Patmon (Ross, class of ’10) has been working to define the video experience for Amazon Video's customers. He started with the first iPad app for Amazon Video, and recently led the product management team for the launch of the “Streaming Partners Program” which brings third-party subscriptions (Starz, Showtime, and more) to Amazon Video. “Being part of the growth of Amazon Video has been an incredible opportunity,” said Bryant. “Over the last four years I’ve gotten to define and build a number of great products available to tens of millions of Prime customers."
Transforming 1-Click shopping into a button.
Laura Ridlehoover (Columbia, class of ‘12) took an idea for home connectivity and existing Amazon services – 1 Click shopping as well as Subscribe and Save - and turned it into an innovative new product. Laura led the engineering and business teams through the ideation, production and go to market phases of the product development cycle in just one year. The result was Dash Button, a Wi-Fi enabled gadget that re-stocks customers' homes at the push of a button. Dash Button has created a whole new category of consumer “internet of things” experiences and is paving the way for automated home replenishment – a great example of how MBAs at Amazon are pioneering our way to the future.
Laura Ridlehoover (Columbia, class of ‘12) took an idea for home connectivity and existing Amazon services – 1 Click shopping as well as Subscribe and Save - and turned it into an innovative new product. Laura led the engineering and business teams through the ideation, production and go to market phases of the product development cycle in just one year. The result was Dash Button, a Wi-Fi enabled gadget that re-stocks customers' homes at the push of a button. Dash Button has created a whole new category of consumer “internet of things” experiences and is paving the way for automated home replenishment – a great example of how MBAs at Amazon are pioneering our way to the future.