We compared the leadership

philosophies of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and it
shows the major differences between
the two companies
AshleyStewart 

Dec25,2019,2:04 AM

Alex Wong/Getty Images; VCG/VCG via Getty Images; Ruobing Su/Business Insider
 Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella each have a
codified list of leadership principles to guide how they and their employees run
two of the most well-known and valuable companies in the world.
 Business Insider recently obtained an internal list of Nadella's leadership
principles, while Amazon publishes those of Bezos on its website.
 Taken together, the two documents give some insight into how the two
chief execs approach management.
 Click here to read more BI Prime stories

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella run two of the most well-
known and valuable companies in the world. But when it comes to the business of
actually running their respective international business empires, the two execs have very
different management styles.
Business Insider recently obtained an internal list of Nadella's leadership principles,
drawn from the strategy that helped the company re-establish itself as a major market
player. The company's market value has gone from about $300 billion when he took
over as CEO in 2014 to some $1.2 trillion today.
Nadella's principles, which urges leaders to "create clarity" and "generate energy," are
required reading for every new manager at Microsoft, and the subject of an online
course at the company.
Bezos' principles – starting with the "customer obsession" that the company often talks
about – are posted on Amazon's career website for prospective job candidates and
anyone else to view.
By comparing the two documents, plus some additional insight from Nadella's
professional memoir "Hit Refresh," it's easy to see the difference in how they approach
the concept of business leadership. 
 Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at astewart@businessinsider.com,
message her on Twitter @ashannstew or send her a secure message through Signal at
425-344-8242.  

On delivering:

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Reuters

Bezos: Deliver results
"Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right
quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never
settle."
Nadella: Deliver success
 Drive innovation that people love
 Be boundary-less in seeking solutions
 Tenaciously pursue the right outcomes
"[Leaders] find a way to deliver success, to make things happen. This means driving
innovations that people love and are inspired to work on; finding balance between long-
term success and short-term wins; and being boundary-less and globally minded in
seeking solutions," Nadella wrote in his memoir.
 

On prioritizing the company over team:

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Nadella: Generate energy
"Leaders generate energy, not only on their own teams but across the company. It's
insufficient to focus exclusively on your own unit," Nadella wrote in his memoir.
Bezos: Ownership
"Leaders are owners. They think long term and don't sacrifice long-term value for short-
term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team.
They never say 'that's not my job.'"
 
 

On personalities:
Getty
Bezos: Have backbone; disagree and commit
"Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even
when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are
tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is
determined, they commit wholly."
Are right, a lot
"Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek
diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs."
Nadella: Ensure shared understanding
"I don't want to hear that someone is the smartest person in the room. I want to hear
them take their intelligence and use it to develop deep shared understanding within
teams and define a course of action," Nadella wrote in his memoir.

On simplification:

Chesnot/Getty Images
Nadella: Synthesize the complex
"Leaders take internal and external noise and synthesize a message from it, recognizing
the true signal within a lot of noise," Nadella wrote in his memoir.
Bezos: Invent and simplify
"Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find
ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are
not limited by 'not invented here.' As we do new things, we accept that we may be
misunderstood for long periods of time."

On action:

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Bezos: Bias for action
"Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need
extensive study. We value calculated risk taking."
Nadella: Define a course of action
Nadella believes it's a leader's responsibility to get everyone on the same page and take
action together, according to his memoir "Hit Refresh."

On leading a team:
Getty
Nadella: Inspire optimism, creativity, and growth
"Leaders need to inspire optimism, creativity, shared commitment, and growth through
times good and bad. They create an environment where everyone can do his or her best
work. And they build organizations and teams that are stronger tomorrow than today,"
Nadella wrote in his memoir "Hit Refresh."
Bezos: Earn trust
"Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are
vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not
believe their or their team's body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves
and their teams against the best."
Hire and develop the best
"Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize
exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders
develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of
our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice."
Insist on the highest standard
Leaders have relentlessly high standards — many people may think these standards are
unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and drive their teams to
deliver high quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not
get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.
Dive deep
Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are
skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.
Learn and be curious
"Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are
curious about new possibilities and act to explore them."

Bezos' customer obsession:

Founder, Chairman, CEO and President of Amazon Jeff Bezos gives a thumbs up as he speaks during
an event about Blue Origin's space exploration plans in Washington, U.S., May 9, 2019. Clodagh
Kilcoyne/Reuters
Bezos: The ultimate leadership principle at Amazon is the notion of "customer
obsession."
"Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and
keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over
customers."
And prioritizing customers is echoed through his remaining leadership principles.
Think big
"Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold
direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways
to serve customers."
Frugality
"Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and
invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed
expense."

Nadella's 'changing the culture' at the company:

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Nadella: The Microsoft CEO summed up his leadership principles in his memoir "Hit
Refresh" by saying "Changing the culture at Microsoft doesn't depend on me, or even on
the handful of top leaders I work most closely with. It depends on everyone in the
company—including our vast cadre of middle managers who must dedicate themselves
to mak
 Meet the 15 Google execs who report to
CEO Sundar Pichai and are leading the
internet company's most critical
businesses
HughLangley 

Jun 24,2020,5:36AM

Google; Ruobing Su/Business Insider

 Google's corporate structure has once again shifted, streamlining certain groups
and assigning new titles and responsibilities to CEO Sundar Pichai's team of executives.
 Pichai's inner circle of direct reports are helping the Google chief steer the
company through a challenging period marked by increasing regulatory scrutiny,
employee unrest and a pandemic that threatens to cause the first revenue decline in
Google history.
 Business Insider has identified the key direct reports along with their new titles
and responsibilities.
 Do you work at Google? You can contact this reporter securely using encrypted
messaging app Signal (+1 628-228-1836) or encrypted email
(hslangley@protonmail.com).
 Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Google's senior leadership has gone through many incarnations over its 22-year history.
But since CEO Sundar Pichai took the reins of the Alphabet parent company late last
year — when Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped aside — the senior
leadership ranks have gone through some significant changes.
With Pichai now running the entire operation, the 48-year old, India-born tech exec
must build a team to help steer the company through a thicket of new challenges.
In June, Pichai reshuffled several of Google's top executives in key businesses including
search, advertising tech and maps. 
The new "cabinet" has its work cut out for it. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing
disruptions throughout the global economy and Google's advertising customers, the
company must contend with rising competition, regulatory scrutiny, and employee
unrest. And after more than two decades of astounding growth, Google's revenue is at
risk of suffering the first ever decline in company history.
Business Insider has identified the 15 senior executives at Google who report directly to
Pichai. The list reflects the updated job titles and responsibilities that resulted from the
latest management reorg. 
Here is the who's who in Google CEO Sundar Pichai's inner circle:

Thomas Kurian — Google Cloud CEO

Flickr/Oracle PR
Google has set 2023 as the deadline to overtake at least one of its major cloud rivals, and
the pressure is on Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian to deliver.
The former Oracle executive was named as Google's new Cloud chief in November 2018.
"You will see us competing much more aggressively," he said just several weeks into his
tenure. And so far, Kurian appears to be delivering on that promise as he pushes
Google's enterprise business to catch Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
Kurian succeeded Diane Greene, who was more focused on engineering, and who
insiders say had a close professional relationship with engineering SVP Urs Hölzle.
"Kurian is a move back to a sales-oriented culture at the top," said one person who
worked with both Greene and Kurian. "That will probably help break through in markets
that have been historically skeptical of Google within the enterprise."
Kurian is wielding a great deal of power inside Google right now, and his stronger focus
on enterprise sales is already helping Google pick up the pace. Under Kurian, Cloud is
targeting more products and services specific to certain industries, and the Cloud
chief said deals over $50 million more than doubled in 2019.
Fun fact: Thomas has a twin brother named George, who is the CEO of NetApp.

Ruth Porat — SVP and CFO of Google and Alphabet

Ruth Porat, CFO of Google. Denis Balibouse/Reuters

In 2015, just months before the company morphed into Alphabet, Ruth Porat left
financial firm Morgan Stanley to join Google as its new Chief Financial Officer.
The timing of Porat's arrival was not a coincidence, and since the reorganization she has
continued to serve as CFO for both Google and Alphabet, making her one of the most
important figures inside the internet empire.
Insiders say Porat has become a more prominent figure within the company over time,
particularly since Sundar Pichai became CEO of Alphabet and as the company has
moved through the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Porat's purview extends to Alphabet's so-called Other Bets — the hodgepodge of
subsidiary businesses focused on autonomous driving, biotech and drones, among other
things— where she controls the purse strings, headcount and future of the various
efforts.
 

Kent Walker — SVP Global Affairs and Chief Legal

Officer

As senior VP for Global Affairs and Google's Chief Legal Officer, long-time employee
Kent Walker is Google's top lawyer. 
Walker advises Google's leadership team on legal and policy issues that involve
everything from company acquisitions to antitrust investigations. Bloomberg once
called Walker "the most powerful person in tech you've never heard of." That's not
wildly off the mark.
Before joining Google in 2006, the Stanford Law School graduate held top legal roles at
eBay and at internet browser pioneer Netscape, as well as doing a five-year stint in the
US Department of Justice.
Walker is a key player inside Pichai's squad, and with a bigger antitrust storm brewing
for the company in 2020 his job looks set to get a lot more complex.
One bit of good news for Walker: With Brin, Page and former executive chairman Eric
Schmidt no longer involved in the company's day-to-day affairs, the risk of a top exec
saying something regrettable during company all-hands meetings has gone down
considerably. That alone, suggest some insiders, should allow Walker to breath a lot
easier.

Rick Osterloh — SVP, Devices and Services

AP
For the past few years, Rick Osterloh has been attempting to wrangle Google's various
hardware efforts – phones, laptops, wearables – into one cohesive vision. No easy task.
The former president of Motorola Mobility, who Google hired back in 2016 to lead its
hardware division, has perhaps most notably helped grow Google's own brand of Pixel
smartphones into a household name.
In 2018, Osterloh also took charge of Nest, once an independent company bought by
Google and placed in a silo under Alphabet – before being absorbed back into the
Google mothership.
Now the pressure is on for Osterloh to prove that Google deserves to be taken seriously
as a hardware giant. Google is said to be working on its own processors for future Pixel
phones and Chromebooks, which would feasibly allow Osterloh and his team to do
better and more interesting things with the surrounding hardware.
Osterloh's own direct reports include Nest VP Rishi Chandra, and Clay Bavor, who
oversees Google's virtual and augmented reality products.
 

Prabhakar Raghavan — Head of Search and Geo

Prabhakar Raghavan Google
Insiders have described Prabhakar Raghavan as a major rising star within the company,
and his latest promotion just proved it.
In a recent executive reshuffle, Raghavan was named Google's new head of Search and
Assistant. Prabhakar previous lead Google's ads and commerce team, and before that
was in charge of G Suite in Google Cloud.
But search is Raghavan's bread and butter. Before Google, he founded Yahoo Labs and
led the company's search strategy, not to mention that he's published various books and
papers on the subject, including a book co-authored with Rajeev Motwani called
Randomized Algorithms.
Not only will Raghavan be grappling with Google Search, the reorg puts Raghavan right
at the top of the Google money tree, overseeing ads, Geo, commerce and payments —
and the voice-based Assistant product too.
With the new promotion, Raghavan has a sparkly new team of direct reports, which
include Jerry Dischler, who now leads Google Ads; and new Geo leads Dane Glasgow
and Elizabeth Reid. Insiders say Raghavan has already begun meeting with his new
leads to learn about their progress, as he transitions into the new role.

Hiroshi Lockheimer — SVP, Platforms and Ecosystems

Google IO 2017/YouTube
A founding member of the Android team, Lockheimer currently oversees Google's range
of mobile products including Android, Chrome, Chrome OS, and Play.
He joined the company in 2006, after Google acquired Android, where he served as
executive director and later VP of engineering. In 2015, Google's fresh CEO Sundar
Pichai, who once lead Chrome and Chrome OS development himself, appointed
Lockheimer as SVP of Google's mobile software efforts.
Insiders have described Lockheimer as having a "quiet strength" about him, calling him
a well-respected leader in the company. Pichai's prior history working on Chrome
means this is an area the Google chief is particularly close to.
Lockheimer is also leading the charge on a new OS called Fuschia, an open-source sort-
of-blend of Android and Chrome OS, which remains shrouded in much mystery.

Susan Wojcicki — YouTube CEO

Reed Saxon/AP
Susan Wojcicki not only serves as YouTube's CEO, she's also a card-carrying member of
the old-school Google club. In fact, it was Wojcicki's garage where Google founders
Larry Page and Sergey Brin built their first office in 1998.
It was also Wojcicki who proposed Google buy YouTube in 2006, and now almost 15
years later the founders are surely glad they listened.
Wojcicki, who studied history and literature at Harvard University, has transformed
YouTube into one of Google's biggest success stories.
And now that the company has started revealing YouTube's revenue, we can see just
how successful it is.
The business brought in $4.04 billion in revenue for the last quarter alone, marking a
33% year-over-year growth.
Check out our list of the 33 insiders who hold the most power at YouTube featuring,
naturally, the CEO herself.

Lorraine Twohill — SVP of Global Marketing

Google
Lorraine Twohill joined Google in 2003 as the company's first marketing hire outside of
the US, and quickly rose through the ranks to lead the company's marketing division.
Twohill, who also created Google's in-house advertising agency Creative Lab, has her
own wide range of reports across Google products, from Search to Chrome.
"She's humanized Google with Super Bowl Sunday ads," wrote Business Insider in its list
of the most innovative CMOs of 2020.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Twohill has worked with the World Health
Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote official
health information across Google's products.
Ben Gomes — SVP, Education

Flickr
Another early member of the company, Ben Gomes joined Google in 1999 where he was
tasked with, among other things, scaling Google's 'PageRank' beyond 25 million pages.
Gomes has been described as Google's search czar. "I think of Ben as our diplomat,"
Marissa Mayer once said during her Google tenure. However, it wasn't until 2018 that
Gomes was appointed head of Google's Search business.
Now, Gomes has transitioned to a new role overseeing Google's education and learning
products. In this new position at Google, Gomes will tie together the company's various
education-oriented efforts, which includes everything from school Chromebook
programs to the Google Scholar service.
"Ben has always had a deep interest in education innovation, and we're excited to see
him build on our work here," said CEO Sundar Pichai when announcing Gomes' new
role in June.
Gomes will continue to report directly to Pichai in his new role. He will remain a
technical advisor on Search, assisting Prabhakar Raghavan as he leads the division, and
will work closely with Google.org on corporate philanthropy.
 

Jen Fitzpatrick — SVP of Core and Corp Eng

Google
Jen Fitzpatrick, who joined Google via its internship program in 1999, was one of the
first 30 employees at the company. She was also one of Google's first women engineers.
Fitzpatrick has led teams on Search, Google News, shopping, and AdWords. In 2014, she
was appointed VP for Geo, overseeing the entire Google Maps business.
Fitzpatrick has just transitioned into a new role, moving out of Geo to lead the
company's core engineering teams, overseeing more than 8,000 employees.
"Jen's deep product knowledge and experience focusing on important areas such as
privacy will set her up well to lead these teams," Pichai wrote in a memo announcing the
move.
She continues to service inside Pichai's inner team, just in a different capacity. Google
engineering VP and company veteran Luiz André Barroso will remain working in Core,
and now report to Fitzpatrick.

Jeffrey Dean — Head of Google AI

Google
Jeffrey Dean is a Google Senior Fellow and head of the Google AI division. Another 1999
member of the company, Dean gained a reputation for his exceptional coding talent and
joined Google's X lab in 2011 to work on deep neural networks.
That eventually led to the creation of Google Brain, the company's research group which
Dean continues to lead.
Dean was appointed the head of Google's entire AI division in 2018 during a leadership
reshuffle, which spun AI into its own business.
During college, Dean worked on the World Health Organization's Global Programme on
AIDS, and continues to have a deep interest in Google's work in the health sector.

Philipp Schindler — SVP and Chief Business Officer

Google's SVP and chief business officer Philipp Schindler Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images
Google's Chief Business Officer has been extremely busy over the past few months, as
the company continues to fend off the effects of COVID-19.
Schindler, who joined Google in 2005, took the job of Chief Business Officer when
Google restructured itself under Alphabet in 2015. Not just the face of Google's
advertising business, Schindler also weighs in on everything from Google News to the
company's moonshots.
Insiders have talked up Schindler's friendly persona, and say his "P Staff" meetings have
become famous inside the company. The German-born Schindler is a veteran of the
early online days, having worked at AOL and Compuserve during the 1990s.
While Google is seeing the coronavirus pandemic ravage its advertising business, some
analysts have been encouraged by the work Schindler has done to push much larger ad
deals that could bolster these effects.
Under the new world order, expect Schindler to work more closely with Raghavan as he
steers Google's search and advertising business.
 

Corey duBrowa — VP, Global Communications and

Public Affairs

LinkedIn screenshot
When it comes to Google's communications, the buck stops with Corey duBrowa. After
stints shaping the PR strategy for Starbucks and Salesforce, duBrowa joined Google in
2018 to help build the company's brand.
Corey duBrowa has a direct line to Pichai and wrangles a team of more than 200
staffers. Early on in his Google tenure, duBrowa introduced 'objectives and key results'
(OKRs) for the company communications team – something Pichai uses with his own
direct reports.
"For years, Google was data-rich and analysis poor," DuBrowa told listeners during an
interview at a Holmes Report event last year. "We're in the process of building the kind
of analytics engine and team to help us be more precise." 
And if you happen to come across Corey duBrowa's byline in Rolling Stone and GQ,
that's because he was also a music journalist in a past life.

Ben Smith — Google Fellow

Google
Like Jen Fitzpatrick, Ben Smith joined Google in 1999 from the company's internship
program. He was so enamored with the company at the time that he left his graduate
program to join Google's Search efforts — and has remained with Google ever since.
Smith is a member of the old guard, and a technical advisor to the office of the CEO.
While he's less in the public eye than other members of Pichai's squad, you'll
occasionally see his name appear alongside various Google blog posts.

Tom Oliveri — VP, CEO Team

Google
Tom Oliveri joined Google in 2005 where he worked on Google's first payment service,
before transitioning to lead marketing for various Google products, eventually
overseeing marketing for Chrome and Android in a VP role.
Oliveri is currently a VP of the CEO team, reporting directly to Pichai. Oliveri's reports
include, Jeff Markowitz, who joined Google as a leadership advisor in 2019.
We’ve discussed with anh Kha on DreamF’s strategy this morning. Seems like everything is
still unclear. Kha wants DreamF to become a fashion destination (Fashionguru) for VN’s
young people by leveraging IT to better understand customer behavior. Fashionguru
(online e-commerce platform + fashion community) is Kha’s brainchild.
Per anh Kha and Linh Hoang (CMO):
DreamF’s strength:
 Strong brand awareness (for Juno only)
 Store network + Strong online presence (for Juno only)
 Strong in retail operation
 Better customer analytics by using data  Know how to segment them and
implement different sales tactics for different customer groups.
 System: used to be a strength, but now competitors can use Haravan for their
systems
DreamF’s weakness:
 Production: Need to hire a master (sư phụ ) to develop form/mold for shoes 
Limited in number and mostly from China
 Fabric is important. But VN imports 70% fabrics and lack of competitive advantages
in dyeing and weaving (high capex and technology).
 Performance and functionality for clothing  No insights on technology  Don’t
know how to make clothes with functionality/performance ☹ (that’s why the
Speedia project failed)
Seems like anh Kha is under pressure to make an early win for DreamF. He HAS TO GET A
SUPPORT from Seedcom’s BOD  He’s likely to choose safer options (Fashionguru +
fashionable clothing) rather than investing in functionality or performance
sportswear/menswear