Bezos’ Exit Is One of Many Among Amazon’s Top Ranks

An unusual number of vice presidents are leaving for prominent jobs at public companies or high-growth start-ups.

SEATTLE — When Andy Jassy is elevated to chief executive of Amazon on Monday, taking the reins from its founder, Jeff Bezos, it will be one of the most closely watched executive handoffs in years. But a much less heralded — though still deeply meaningful — change has already been underway at the company. Dozens of executives in Amazon’s upper ranks have departed in the past 18 months, many after working there for over a decade. It is an unusual level of disruption inside the business. The departing executives don’t represent a huge slice of the top ranks, with hundreds of vice presidents now. But for years, Amazon’s leaders were considered lifers. Many had been there since the company’s earliest days. They were loyal to Amazon, whose rising stock price often made them wealthy.