Amazon hires former Microsoft and SAP exec Julia White as new AWS marketing chief

Julia White, a longtime Microsoft executive who spent the past four years at SAP, has been named the chief marketing officer and vice president at Amazon Web Services.

Raejeanne Skillern, who previously held the role, is leaving Amazon to pursue new career opportunities, and prioritize her family and work on boards of directors, according to a memo to employees Monday morning from Matt Garman, the AWS CEO.

White worked for nearly 20 years at Microsoft, on businesses including Exchange Server, Office, and ultimately as corporate vice president responsible for product marketing for Microsoft Azure, Developer Tools and Servers.

She was CMO and executive board member at enterprise technology giant SAP before announcing her departure a few months ago.

Garman’s memo cited White’s strong background in marketing and “extensive experience in cloud, AI, and product messaging and positioning,” noting that she will join his leadership team.

Amazon Web Services surpassed $10 billion in quarterly profits for the first time in the most recent quarter, with revenue growing 19% to $27.4 billion. The company is looking to leverage its work in generative AI to build on its lead in the public cloud market, competing against Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and others.

Garman was named AWS CEO earlier this year, succeeding Adam Selipsky.