Microsoft Says Pact Lets Ex-Amazon Executive Begin New Role

(Bloomberg) -- Former Amazon.com Inc. cloud computing executive Charlie Bell began his new role Monday working on cybersecurity issues at Microsoft Corp. after the rival companies resolved a dispute regarding the limits of his job, Microsoft said.

“After constructive discussions with Amazon, Charlie Bell started his new role on Oct. 11, focused on advancing cybersecurity capabilities that will benefit the tech sector and the broader economy,” a Microsoft spokesman said in a statement.

Bell’s hiring, reported in August, comes as Microsoft’s Azure cloud division has been closing the gap with market leader Amazon Web Services. Bell previously was a senior vice president at Amazon who long reported to former AWS leader Andy Jassy, now Amazon chief executive officer. Bell supervised the engineering teams working on AWS’s main software services. Early in his career, Bell worked on software for NASA’s space shuttle program before he joined Amazon in 1998 when the company acquired his e-commerce software startup. AWS has twice as much market share as Microsoft’s Azure, and both companies are looking to fend off inroads from Alphabet Inc.’s Google. 

Amazon, through a spokesman, declined to comment. The truce over Bell’s hiring was reported earlier by Seattle news site Geekwire.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.