Amazon just made a telling move in its leadership ranks. CEO Andy Jassy is bringing Dharmesh Mehta, the executive who built the company's third-party seller empire into a revenue juggernaut, into his inner circle as Technical Advisor. Meanwhile, 27-year Amazon veteran Amit Agarwal is expanding his already substantial portfolio to absorb Mehta's seller services operation, consolidating control over both emerging international markets and the marketplace that now accounts for over 60% of Amazon's unit sales.
Amazon is playing musical chairs at the executive level, but this isn't your typical corporate reshuffle. The company announced today that Dharmesh Mehta, who spent 12 years turning third-party sellers into Amazon's secret weapon, is stepping into one of the most coveted development roles in tech: Technical Advisor to CEO Andy Jassy.
The move, effective in March, pulls Mehta from the operational frontlines just as Amazon's marketplace business hits a milestone most e-commerce companies can only dream about. Under his watch, independent sellers grew from a side business to the dominant force on Amazon's platform, now representing more than 60% of all units sold according to the company's own figures. That's not just a win for small business rhetoric - it's a fundamental shift in how Amazon makes money, with less inventory risk and higher-margin revenue from fees and services.
But here's where it gets interesting. Amit Agarwal isn't just backfilling Mehta's role - he's absorbing it into an empire that already spans 10 emerging market countries including India, Brazil, and South Africa. The 27-year Amazon veteran will now oversee both the International Emerging Stores organization and the entire Selling Partner Services operation, reporting directly to Worldwide Amazon Stores CEO Doug Herrington. It's a consolidation that hints at Amazon's strategic thinking: emerging markets and marketplace infrastructure aren't separate initiatives anymore, they're two sides of the same growth engine.
