When people talk about modern corporate structure, Amazon often comes up as an example of a company built for speed, experimentation, and relentless customer focus. The Amazon org chart—although not publicly detailed at every level—provides valuable insight into how the company manages its vast operations, thousands of employees, and global business units.
Whether you’re a business owner, a manager, or simply curious about how one of the world’s largest companies organizes itself, understanding Amazon’s approach to structure can offer lessons that apply to organizations of all sizes. Amazon’s organizational philosophy prioritizes efficiency, adaptability, and customer-centricity, creating a model that continues to influence the tech and retail sectors.
In this article, we’ll break down how the Amazon org chart typically functions, the principles behind it, and what modern leaders can learn from its design.
1. The Core Philosophy Behind Amazon’s Organizational Structure
Before looking at the org chart itself, it’s important to understand Amazon’s foundational principles. Amazon prioritizes:
Customer Obsession
This is the central value that shapes every team, role, and decision. Every department—from operations to cloud computing—is expected to ask, “How does this benefit the customer?”
Decentralized Autonomy
Amazon is famous for its “two-pizza team” rule: if a team can’t be fed with two pizzas, it’s too large. This idea encourages smaller, independent units that can innovate without heavy bureaucracy.
Scalability and Efficiency
The org chart isn’t just a hierarchy; it’s a mechanism for scaling operations from local hubs to global services.
Long-Term Thinking
Leadership structure is designed to support future-focused decisions, even when short-term costs are high.
These principles influence how Amazon builds, manages, and evolves its organizational ecosystem.
2. Key Layers of the Amazon Org Chart
While the exact structure varies across regions and business segments, Amazon generally follows a tiered leadership design. Here’s an overview of the major levels:
1. Board of Directors
At the top sits the board, responsible for governance, strategy approval, and executive oversight. Although not involved in daily operations, the board shapes long-term direction.
2. Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
The CEO—currently Andy Jassy (as of recent years)—oversees the company's global strategy and major corporate initiatives. The CEO works closely with senior leadership to ensure alignment with Amazon’s objectives.
3. Senior Leadership Team (S-Team)
This elite group includes executives who lead major divisions such as:
Worldwide Consumer
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Operations & Logistics
Finance
Marketing and Retail
Human Resources
Legal & Policy
Devices and Digital Content
The S-Team collaborates on cross-department strategy, resource allocation, and high-level decision-making.
4. Business Unit Leaders
Each major segment operates almost like its own company. For example:
AWS has its own product, engineering, and sales leadership.
Amazon’s Marketplace has separate teams for seller services, advertising, and merchant support.
Operations manages warehouses, delivery networks, and robotics systems independently.
This level of separation is intentional—it keeps teams focused and avoids the inefficiencies of a one-size-fits-all structure.
5. Department Managers and Team Leads
Below the business unit level are managers responsible for:
Daily operations
Team performance
Project execution
Communication between leadership and frontline workers
This segment is where Amazon’s “two-pizza team” philosophy becomes visible. Team leads have significant autonomy, often operating like mini-startups within the larger organization.
6. Individual Contributors
These are engineers, analysts, warehouse associates, customer service representatives, designers, and specialists who perform the core work. Amazon invests heavily in developing these roles because they are crucial to delivering customer value.
3. How Amazon Uses Structure to Support Rapid Growth
One of the most interesting aspects of the Amazon org chart is its ability to support expansion into completely new industries. Amazon started as a bookstore; now it leads in cloud computing, logistics, media, and smart devices.
Here’s how its structure supports such diversity:
Autonomous Business Units
Amazon creates new divisions that operate independently. This prevents large-scale changes from creating bottlenecks in unrelated departments.
Strong Leadership Principles
Every team is trained to follow Amazon’s Leadership Principles. These shared values unify teams even when business units function separately.
Clear Accountability
Each business unit is responsible for its own P&L (profit and loss). This structure encourages ownership and disciplined growth.
Flexible Resource Allocation
Amazon can quickly shift resources to high-performing initiatives because its org chart supports rapid decision-making at the S-Team and business unit level.
4. Lessons Organizations Can Learn from the Amazon Org Chart
Whether you lead a small business, a nonprofit, or a growing startup, Amazon’s structure offers several practical insights.
1. Build Teams That Can Move Quickly
Large teams slow decision-making. Amazon’s model encourages small, focused groups that have clear roles and responsibilities.
2. Develop Independent Business Functions
If every team needs approval from senior leadership for basic decisions, innovation stalls. Empowering teams increases creativity and responsiveness.
3. Prioritize Customer-Centric Alignment
Organizations that structure teams around customer needs—not internal politics—tend to innovate more successfully.
4. Encourage Data-Driven Decision Making
Amazon teams rely heavily on metrics. Creating systems where data guides decisions reduces guesswork and improves outcomes.
5. Foster Leadership at Every Level
Amazon’s emphasis on leadership principles applies to everyone, from executives to entry-level employees. When everyone understands how decisions are made, collaboration improves.
5. Challenges Within the Amazon Organizational Structure
Even one of the world’s most admired companies faces structural challenges. Understanding these helps create a more balanced view.
High Pressure Environment
Fast decision-making can sometimes lead to employee burnout, especially in high-demand divisions.
Complexity Across Global Teams
Operating in dozens of countries makes communication and coordination difficult, even with strong systems in place.
Rapid Scaling Issues
As Amazon grows, maintaining cultural consistency across thousands of teams becomes challenging.
Balancing Autonomy With Oversight
Too much autonomy can lead to misalignment; too much oversight can restrict innovation. The company constantly adjusts to find the right balance.
6. Why So Many Industries Study the Amazon Org Chart
From retail and logistics to cloud computing and digital media, many sectors analyze how Amazon organizes itself. The reason is simple: Amazon has built a structure that balances innovation with operational efficiency—something few global corporations achieve.
By studying the Amazon org chart, organizations can gain insights into:
Structuring teams for growth
Improving communication channels
Encouraging innovation
Managing global operations
Prioritizing customer experience
Even if your company isn’t the size of Amazon, adopting some of its structural principles can help streamline processes and support long-term success.
FAQs About the Amazon Org Chart
1. Is the Amazon org chart publicly available?
Amazon does not publish a complete, detailed org chart. However, general information about major divisions and leadership roles is available through public reports, press releases, and industry analyses.
2. How is Amazon’s organizational structure different from traditional companies?
Amazon uses a highly decentralized structure with autonomous teams. This contrasts with more traditional hierarchical models that require multiple levels of approval for decisions.
3. What is a “two-pizza team” at Amazon?
It refers to Amazon’s method of creating small teams—small enough that two pizzas can feed everyone. This encourages agility, speed, and accountability.
4. How many divisions does Amazon have?
Amazon’s divisions evolve frequently, but major segments typically include AWS, Worldwide Consumer, Operations, Devices, and Advertising. Each segment contains multiple sub-units.
5. Why do companies study the Amazon org chart?
Organizations look to Amazon’s structure as a model for scaling operations, improving innovation, and maintaining customer focus while expanding into new industries.
