Contrary to initial reports, David Limp's retirement is not happening anytime soon.
Taking Over Blue Origin
In a surprising turn of events, it was revealed on Monday that Jeff Bezos had personally selected Dave Limp to take over as the new CEO of Blue Origin. This decision came as the current Blue Origin CEO, Bob Smith, is set to retire at the start of December.
In a message to Blue Origin's employees on Monday, Engadget reported that Bezos shared his enthusiasm for the transition, saying that he's excited to share that Dave Limp will join Blue starting December 4th as CEO.
Having closely collaborated with Limp for an extensive period, Bezos is confident that he is the ideal leader for Blue Origin at this crucial juncture.
Bezos writes. "Dave is a proven innovator with a customer-first mindset and extensive experience leading and scaling large, complex organizations. Dave has an outstanding sense of urgency, brings energy to everything, and helps teams move very fast."
The executive's impressive background includes nearly 14 years at Amazon, where he most recently held the position of Senior Vice President of Amazon Devices and Services. In this role, he oversaw a multitude of businesses, including Kuiper, Kindle, Alexa, and Zoox.
"It has been my privilege to be part of this great team, and I am confident that Blue Origin's greatest achievements are still ahead of us. We've rapidly scaled this company from its prototyping and research roots to a large, prominent space business," Limp stated.
The former Senior Vice President of Devices and Services made headlines last week when he announced his departure from the position he had held for more than a decade during Amazon's 2023 Devices Event.
As per The Verge, Sara Blask, a spokesperson for Blue Origin, officially announced Limp's appointment as Smith's successor. Blask emphasized Limp's track record as an innovative leader with an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction.
Smith has agreed to remain with the company until January 2, 2024, to facilitate a seamless transition. Limp will be replacing him and he ensures that the planned overlap is designed to facilitate a seamless transition.
Replacing Smith
Bezos acknowledged Smith's remarkable contributions and the tremendous growth and evolution Blue Origin has witnessed under his leadership.
During his tenure, CNBC reported that the company's sales orders have surged to several billion dollars, accompanied by a substantial backlog for our vehicles and engines.
The Blue Origin team has expanded from 850 members when the CEO joined to over 10,000 today.
The company's footprint has grown from a single office in Kent to encompass the construction of a launch pad at LC-36 and the development of five million square feet of facilities spread across seven states.
