Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos shares the spotlight with key executives

Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon's global consumer company, has spent nearly two decades in the company and was promoted to his current position more than three years ago. But until this week, consumers and investors have never seen it on TV.

Wilke's 20-minute interview with CNBC on Thursday was his first appearance on television since his promotion to run Amazon's largest unit in 2016. More importantly, the recorded chat has been integrated into the efforts. recent Amazon to improve the public profile of the highest executive of its CEO, Jeff Bezos. the lieutenants.

Since he started on Amazon 25 years ago as an online bookseller, Bezos is the larger-than-life face of the company, which has reached a market capitalization of $ 900 billion. He is not the only one among the founders of technology to create a cult of personality. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Marc Benioff of Salesforce and Reed Hastings of Netflix are all synonymous with the companies they have created. The same goes for Bill Gates of Microsoft and Steve Jobs of Apple for many years.

Amazon is unique in that few of its product leaders have established true name recognition outside the walls of the company. Apple's public figures include Chief Software Engineer Craig Federighi and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams. Facebook's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, often speaks on behalf of the company, while Google's chief financial officer, Ruth Porat, and cloud chief, Thomas Kurian, are prominent personalities at Wall Street.

On Amazon, Andy Jassy, ​​CEO of Amazon Web Services, has gained an increased presence in recent years, but most executives have remained under the radar, rarely speaking in public and sparingly quoting press releases. .

For Bezos, this must change. Investors need to see and hear the executives of the gigantic and expensive companies in which they invest, and Bezos has a steadily growing portfolio of ambitious projects outside of Amazon to occupy his time and his energy.

"We are seeing a concerted effort to show that Amazon is more than just Bezos," said Tom Forte, an analyst at D.A. Davidson, in an interview. Strong said that he was "shocked" to see Wilke's interview, which took place at the re: Amazon conference on artificial intelligence.

Dave Limp, Manager of Amazon Devices, also spoke to CNBC during the event. He and Wilke both stood by the party, stressing the importance of customer experience in everything Amazon does.

"I think you'll have a lot of evidence this week that our business model is producing great things for customers and the world," Wilke said.

Here's where else we see top executives appear:

Last year, at an event held at Vanity Fair, Jeff Blackburn, who oversees Amazon's advertising and advertising activities, performed a rare live interview. Jay Carney, the former White House press officer who now heads the press and government relations of Amazon, held his first extensive press briefing with the Washington Post last month, after his release. be especially kept quiet over the last four years. Carney's other public appearances took place in November, when Amazon announced its HQ2. Dave Clark, who leads his retail operations, is promoting new delivery services.

They are all part of Bezos' elite S-team team, the 18 people the CEO consults regularly to make critical business decisions.

Strong said that it is important that a number of these leaders become familiar names.

"I have to assume that it's a strategic move, positioning the company for life after Bezos," said Forte, who recommends buying Amazon shares.

While hoping that 55-year-old Bezos would remain at the helm for another decade, Forte pointed out in a recent report "a significant risk of succession" because of Bezos' tremendous influence over his personality. within society. He also noted that Amazon is better prepared for eventual change due to the depth of its executives and the relatively young age of Bezos. In comparison, Forte quoted Howard Schultz of Starbucks and Walmart's Sam Walton, aged 63 and 70 respectively, at the time of their departure.

An Amazon representative did not respond to a request for comment.

Amazon's changing approach comes as its expansion reaches unprecedented levels. Beyond online shopping, the company takes care of everything from physical retail and shipping to drone delivery, voice technology and film production. It is the second most valuable publicly traded company in the world, behind only Microsoft.

"One would expect over time, as Amazon develops its business, some executives will be public ambassadors of the company," said Jason Helfstein, an analyst at Oppenheimer, who issued a "buy" recommendation.

Meanwhile, Bezos spends more time out of Amazon. He invests about $ 1 billion a year in his spaceship company, Blue Origin, and is more interested in adventure. He also owns the Washington Post, which he bought for $ 250 million in 2013, and remains an active start-up investor, having supported Uber, Airbnb, Nextdoor and dozens of others.

"Bezos wants investors to remain confident that Amazon can do well without his full attention," said Erik Gordon, a professor of commerce at the University of Michigan.

But there is only one Bezos. It's the richest person in the world, with a net worth of about $ 110 billion, and it's hard to imagine a time when it's not the engine of the vision of society.

As if someone wondered who was still the boss, Bezos gave them a particularly concise answer this week to remind them. While he was on stage at re: March, "an event organized by Jeff Bezos," as the website says, he was asked if anyone ever told him "no".

"No, certainly not twice," said Bezos. He went on to say that this happened often. "I'm looking for him," he says.

WATCH: Carney of Amazon says tax breaks have not decided where to place the QG2