After Jeff Blackburn retires, Mike Hopkins and Steve Boom will take over his responsibilities leading Amazon’s TV, movies, gaming, and audiobook segments.
Amazon’s Jeff Blackburn, who leads the company’s media and entertainment businesses, is retiring from Amazon for a second time, according to emails from Blackburn and CEO Andy Jassy on Friday.
With Blackburn’s departure, there will be some shifts in Amazon’s org chart. Mike Hopkins, who heads up Prime Video, Amazon Studios, and MGM, will report directly to Jassy. Steve Boom will add Audible, Twitch, and Amazon’s games division to his current responsibilities overseeing the company’s music and podcasting groups. He’ll also report directly to Jassy.
Blackburn first retired from his job as SVP of business and corporate development in February 2021 after a year-long sabbatical but was back in his current role that May. Since his return, Amazon has had some major entertainment launches, like the first season of its expensive The Rings of Power TV series and the kickoff of its exclusive Thursday Night Football games, which it will have for 11 years.
Blackburn, who originally joined Amazon in 1997, is set to officially retire once more in January. He’ll remain at the company in some capacity through early 2023 “to help ensure a smooth transition,” Jassy wrote.