Amazon taps internal exec to lead Amazon Web Services computing, ML
Amazon is staying within the company to replace a departing 19-year executive in a key leadership position at Amazon Web Services.
Dave Brown, senior VP of AWS compute, AI and platform, Amazon Web Services, who initially joined the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) team based in Cape Town, South Africa in 2007, is leaving his current position as senior VP, AWS compute, AI and platform to take an unspecified role outside the company.
Replacing Brown when he leaves Amazon at the end of July 2026 will be Dave Treadwell, senior VP of e-commerce foundation at Amazon. Treadwell has held his current role since joining Amazon in November 2016 and previously spent 27 years at Microsoft, where he achieved the title of corporate VP before coming to Amazon.
Meanwhile, Brown rose through increasing positions of responsibility in software development in Amazon’s South Africa operation before assuming the role of senior software development manager in Seattle in 2012. He was named VP of Amazon EC2 in 2018 and took his present role, where he leads the compute, AI and platform organizations for AWS, including machine learning, in April 2026.
In a note to employees posted on a corporate blog Wednesday, July 15, Matt Garman, CEO, AWS lauded both Brown and Treadwell while also stating that AWS is in a strong position.
“Dave (Brown) has been a big part of what we have built at AWS, and I want to personally thank him for all of his contributions in helping grow and develop the technology, the business, and the team,” Garman said in the note. “In his time here, starting in Cape Town and finishing in Seattle, Dave has been a strong leader, builder, innovator, and friend for me and many of you across the team.”
Discussing Treadwell, Garman said he has worked with him as part of Amazon’s elite senior executive “S-Team” for five years and seen how Treadwell has “advocated for his team, pushed those around him to think differently, driven a culture of operational excellence, and obsessed over his customer.”
Garman added that AWS has “never been in a stronger position” and that he has “never been more optimistic about the incredible opportunity” AWS has ahead. Amazon's most recent first-quarter performance was helped by strong growth in its cloud business, with the AWS segment’s revenue rising 28% year-over-year to $37.6 billion. Amazon said it was the segment's fastest growth in 15 quarters.
[READ MORE: Amazon Q1 sales rise 17%; cloud computing segment has fastest growth in 15 quarters]
Brown also posted a brief goodbye note to his coworkers in the blog post.
“As difficult as it is to leave, it feels like the right time for me to begin a new chapter,” Brown said. “Amazon has always been an incredible place for builders, and I’ve been fortunate to work alongside some of the smartest, most driven builders anywhere. (Treadwell is) an exceptional leader with deep technical expertise, relentless customer focus, and a genuine passion for building strong teams. I know you’ll continue to accomplish incredible things together.”
