In this month’s profile Jeremiah shares what a typical day looks like as an Amazon programme manager in the payments industry, some of the reasons he enjoys working at Amazon Pay, and his passion for growth, family and football.
How would you describe yourself in 2-4 sentences?
I’m passionate about the things I love, and one thing I love is a rewarding challenge. When I find something that I truly enjoy I tend to immerse myself into that thing. I also enjoy a wide range of diversions that include attending sporting events, polishing semi-precious stones, and gardening.
When did you join Amazon, what’s your position, and how would you describe your role?
I originally joined Amazon in October 2011 as a customer service manager in Kennewick, Washington. Over the preceding four years I held multiple roles primarily focused on continuous improvement efforts. During this time I had the opportunity to develop professionally through some of the best leaders in world. This development lead to opportunities outside of Amazon in the FinTech space. Ultimately, I became the Senior Vice President of Operations for a credit card issuer, and over a four year period I immersed myself into payment operations. As fate would have it, this newly gained experience gave me the opportunity to rejoin Amazon. When employee leave and then come back we refer to them as a ‘boomerang’ within the company. I joined Amazon Pay in Seattle, Washington in October 2019 as a senior programme manager. In my role I manage a portfolio of global programmes focused on mitigating the inherent risk associated with the payments industry.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I spend part of my day interacting with my partners and stakeholders and a significant portion of my time deep diving into opportunities to improve our customer’s experience. I also spend time reflecting on the lessons learned throughout the day’s journey with the intent of identifying aha moments that warrant further exploration and action.
What do you enjoy about the Amazon culture? Or what’s one thing you’ve learned since your time at Amazon?
One thing I enjoy about the Amazon culture, is our willingness to experiment. For me experiments represent an unknown, I always get excited about the prospect of an unexpected breakthrough that causes a positive paradigm shift.
What is your favourite leadership principle and why?
Customer Obsession is my favourite leadership principle because the customer is where we begin our innovation process. As Jeff Bezos put it, “We innovate by starting with the customer and working backwards.”
What are some reasons you enjoy working at Amazon Pay?
One of the reasons I enjoy working at Amazon Pay is that I have the opportunity to help define what customer centricity looks like in the payments space through innovation. I also appreciate the work-life balance options.
My teammates are another reason! My team is diverse group of individuals who all have unique super powers. I get to absorb these super powers through osmosis on a daily basis
How does Amazon support your career goals?
Amazon gives the opportunity to be passionate about the work I do on a daily basis. This passion is a key requirement for my continued growth.
What are some of your passions or something that excites you outside of work?
My number one passion is my family, I love spending time with them. My second passion is the Dallas Cowboys. As you are already probably aware, this is an American football team that is known for being the most highly valued sport franchise in the world and is also known for being called Americas Team.