Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has become one of the most successful companies in the world, and with a market cap near $776 billion, it is the second most valuable public corporation in America. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and the richest person in the world, is the only member of management or the board who is a household name. The board is loaded with obscure people who, in many cases, have become rich due to Amazon stock or options.
In addition to Bezos, who is the founder, board chair and chief executive of the company, there are eight other directors being proposed for re-election to the board at the annual meeting currently scheduled for May 30. There are currently 10 directors, including John Seeley Brown, who informed the company in April that he would not stand for another term. Brown was first elected to the board in 2004, and until 2000 he was the director of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). According to Amazon’s proxy statement, the company’s bylaws have now fixed the number of directors at nine.
Amazon’s directors receive no cash compensation other than reasonable expenses to attend meetings. Directors may, at the board’s discretion, receive stock-based awards. In 2017 two such awards were made, one to a current board member. The stock award was designed to provide about $298,000 in annual compensation.
Here are the nine Amazon directors and a brief summary of who they are.
Jeff Bezos
Bezos is the world’s richest person, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. As of this morning, his personal worth was set at $139 billion. His wealth increased by $1.39 billion yesterday and has risen by $33.9 billion so far in 2018. Bezos’s salary last year totaled $81,840, and his total compensation as a CEO was $1.68 million. Those numbers have been the same for the past three years at least.
According to the latest proxy filing, Bezos owns 78.9 million shares of Amazon stock (16.3% of outstanding common stock).
Tom A. Alberg
Alberg has been a director since June 1996, almost a full year before Amazon become a publicly traded company. Alberg apparently invested $50,000 in Amazon prior to the IPO (at $18 a share!). He has been a managing director in Madrona Investment Group since 1999 and a principal with the venture capital firm since 1996.
He is a member of Amazon’s audit committee. Alberg owns 19,329 shares of Amazon stock, including some 4,500 held in a charitable trust in which he shares voting and investment power. He held 718 unvested restricted stock units at the end of 2017.
Jamie S. Gorelick
A director since February 2012, Gorelick is a partner in the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and has also served on the boards of VeriSign, United Technologies and Schlumberger.
Gorelick chairs Amazon’s nominating and corporate governance committee and owns 6,241 shares of Amazon stock and held 879 unvested restricted stock units at the end of 2017.
Daniel P. Huttenlocher
Huttenlocher has been a director since September 2016. He is currently dean and vice-provost of Cornell University and has held positions at the university since 1988. He also has served on the board of Corning.
Huttenlocher is a member of Amazon’s leadership development and compensation committee. He owns 377 shares of Amazon stock and held 754 unvested restricted stock units at the end of 2017.
Judith A. McGrath
A director since July 2014, McGrath was chair and CEO of MTV from July 2004 until May 2011 and is currently president of Astronauts Wanted, a subsidiary of Sony. She is also a member of Amazon’s leadership development and compensation committee.
McGrath owns 2,520 shares of Amazon stock and held 912 unvested restricted stock units at the end of 2017. She also received a stock award valued at $890,632 in 2017, the only returning board member with reportable compensation last year.
Jonathan J. Rubinstein
Rubinstein has been a director since December 2010. He was the general manager of iPod development at Apple before becoming the CEO at Palm from 2009 until Palm was acquired by HP in 2010. He was co-CEO of investment management firm of Bridgewater Associates from May 2016 to April 2017.
He is the chair of Amazon’s leadership development and compensation committee. Rubinstein owns 8,134 shares of Amazon stock. He held 718 unvested restricted stock units at the end of 2017.
Thomas O. Ryder
A director since November 2002, Ryder was CEO of the Reader’s Digest Association from 1998 through 2005. Prior to that, he was an executive at American Express. He also serves on the board of Interval Leisure Group and previously served on the boards of RPX, Quad/Graphics and Starwood Hotels & Resorts and was board chair at Virgin Mobile.
Ryder is chair of the Amazon board’s audit committee. He owns 13,882 shares of Amazon stock and also held 718 unvested restricted stock units at the end of 2017.
24/7 Wall St.Patricia Q. Stonesifer
Stonesifer has been a director since February 1997, shortly before Amazon’s IPO in May of that year. From 1988 to 1997 she held various roles at Microsoft and later served in several roles with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, including a two-year stint as CEO. She chaired the board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution for three years and is currently president and CEO of Martha’s Table, a nonprofit working to promote a healthier food, affordable clothing and quality education.
She is a member of Amazon’s nominating and corporate governance committee. Her stake is 12,627 shares of Amazon stock, and Stonesifer also held 718 unvested restricted stock units at the end of 2017.
Wendell Weeks
A director since February 2016, Weeks is currently CEO and chair of Corning and is also on the board of pharmaceutical maker Merck.
He is a member of the audit committee. Weeks owns 910 shares of Amazon stock and held 910 unvested restricted stock units at the end of 2017.
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