Brian T. Olsavsky
Summary
Brian T. Olsavsky is Amazon’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, a position he has held since June 2015 after joining the company in 2002. ([sec.gov](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872426000004/amzn-20251231.htm?utm_source=openai))
Biography
Olsavsky joined Amazon in April 2002 and has held finance leadership roles across worldwide operations, North America retail, acquisitions, and the global consumer business. Before becoming CFO, he was vice president of finance and CFO for Amazon’s Global Consumer Business, overseeing finance teams supporting websites, merchant services, fulfillment operations, and related subsidiaries. ([ir.aboutamazon.com](https://ir.aboutamazon.com/officers-and-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=759d328e-1f4c-489c-8fc8-ceb5122b9ffa&utm_source=openai)) As CFO, he oversees controllership, tax, treasury, financial analysis, investor relations, internal audit, and financial operations. Before Amazon, he spent seven years at Fisher Scientific and eight years in financial and operational roles at BF Goodrich and Union Carbide; he holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State and an MBA in finance from Carnegie Mellon University. ([ir.aboutamazon.com](https://ir.aboutamazon.com/officers-and-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=759d328e-1f4c-489c-8fc8-ceb5122b9ffa&utm_source=openai))
Notable achievements
- Built a long Amazon career across operations, retail, acquisitions, fulfillment, and consumer finance before becoming CFO. ([ir.aboutamazon.com](https://ir.aboutamazon.com/officers-and-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=759d328e-1f4c-489c-8fc8-ceb5122b9ffa&utm_source=openai))
- Has overseen Amazon’s broad finance organization since 2015, including treasury, tax, controllership, investor relations, and internal audit. ([ir.aboutamazon.com](https://ir.aboutamazon.com/officers-and-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=759d328e-1f4c-489c-8fc8-ceb5122b9ffa&utm_source=openai))
- Helped manage the financial consequences of Amazon’s rapid fulfillment-network expansion and the subsequent shift toward productivity and cost efficiency. ([theinformation.com](https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/amazon-has-too-much-space-after-costly-logistics-expansion-as-sales-slow-cfo?utm_source=openai))
- Has remained CFO through Amazon’s transition from a primarily retail-led growth story toward a mix of retail, advertising, cloud computing, and AI infrastructure investment. ([sec.gov](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872426000004/amzn-20251231.htm?utm_source=openai))
Problem areas / controversies
- Amazon’s pandemic-era buildup of warehouses, transportation capacity, and staffing produced excess capacity and substantial operating costs, an issue Olsavsky discussed publicly as CFO. ([theinformation.com](https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/amazon-has-too-much-space-after-costly-logistics-expansion-as-sales-slow-cfo?utm_source=openai))
- Investors have periodically questioned Amazon’s high capital spending and its effect on free cash flow, including the company’s large planned increase in AI-related infrastructure spending for 2026. ([sahmcapital.com](https://www.sahmcapital.com/news/content/update-4-amazon-sees-50-boost-to-capital-spending-this-year-shares-tumble-2026-02-06?utm_source=openai))
- Amazon’s finance leadership has had to manage uncertainty around international investments and regulatory conditions, including changing e-commerce rules in India. ([theinformation.com](https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/a2fad3?utm_source=openai))
- There is limited public evidence of a personal controversy involving Olsavsky; the main criticisms associated with his role concern Amazon-wide spending, capacity planning, and financial priorities.