businesses. Today, Amazon has over 200 million items across 31 categories and more than 14,000 Australian businesses selling in Amazon’s stores, many of them SMEs that are building and growing their businesses with e-commerce, including over 3000 businesses based in regional Australia selling in Amazon stores globally. Inside Retail: How would you explain your current leadership style, and do you think your team would use the same words to describe you? Amit Mahto: My leadership style aligns with what’s often called ‘Founder’s Mode’ – a blend of strong vision, entrepreneurial drive, and deep personal investment in the company mission and our people. This is very much in line with Amazon’s ‘Day One’ philosophy, in which we operate with the agility, urgency, and customer obsession of a start-up, regardless of scale. I’m hands-on, actively involved in setting strategic direction while staying adaptable as we innovate and grow. I get into the details when necessary, ensuring high standards and a strong understanding of how our business operates – what we call Dive Deep at Amazon. I believe (or hope!) my team would describe me in a similar way, though they might emphasise different aspects. They’d likely mention my passion and commitment to our mission, my direct involvement in problem-solving, and my ability to ‘get in the trenches’ when needed. They might say I can be a bit too deep in the details at times – but to me, that just reflects how much I care about delivering results for our customers and our sellers. It’s important to me that I create an environment where team members feel empowered to take ownership, contribute unique perspectives, and grow. That’s where the real magic happens. IR: You have been with Amazon for over a decade. How has your approach to leadership evolved over time as you have progressed throughout the company? AM: My leadership approach has undergone a transformation that I believe mirrors my personal growth and Amazon’s growth in Australia. It has been shaped by transitioning from hands-on execution to leading multiple teams. Early in my career, I reviewed every technical and business design. Now, I’ve built a robust design review framework that allows teams to uphold high standards while making independent decisions. Instead of solving every problem myself, I focus on enabling and supporting my teams to solve complex challenges while maintaining Amazon’s culture of operational excellence. This shift, from being an individual contributor to a leader who empowers others, has multiplied my impact. I’ve learned that trusting my teams to make informed decisions, while providing the right mechanisms for guidance and accountability, is essential to driving innovation and long-term success. As Amazon continues to evolve, I will reflect this by continuously adapting my leadership style. Growth requires not only scaling processes, but also developing as a leader, being open to feedback, refining how I support my teams, and staying ahead of what the business needs next. IR: Do you have any particular soft skills that at one point you may not have placed any value on but now see as a professional asset? AM: The ability to influence without direct authority is a skill I once underestimated but now recognise as critical. Amazon operates in a matrix model, meaning employees often work across multiple teams and functions rather than within rigid hierarchies. This makes the ability to communicate, influence, and collaborate across groups essential for success. In Amazon’s unique structure, stakeholders and decision-makers often sit across different teams, and success depends on earning trust and aligning priorities. Early in my career, I relied on data and technical expertise alone, expecting logic to win arguments. Over time, I learned that driving results requires more than just the right answer. For me and my team, I’ve found that there are four areas that help us succeed: Building trust networks across teams Crafting compelling written narratives that clearly articulate the ‘why’ and ‘so what’ behind proposals Understanding concerns and constraints from different perspectives and finding common ground Aligning diverse teams around shared goals, even when priorities might initially seem misaligned. I think the significance of a skill like influencing is often overlooked. It can be critical to the success of projects or day-to-day work. I aim to help my teams improve this skill through intentional practice, actively seeking opportunities to engage with different teams and trying to understand your stakeholders’ motivations and constraints. The more you practise navigating these dynamics and being truly curious, the more natural and effective it becomes. I think mastering these skills has made me a more effective leader and has enabled my teams to operate with greater autonomy while delivering results. IR: Were there any roles you held early in your career that, with hindsight, you now see set you up for success? AM: I definitely think my early role as a product manager was foundational to my leadership journey. At the time, I saw it as simply managing a product but, in hindsight, it was like being a CEO in a microcosm – a hands-on experience in leading cross-functional teams and making strategic decisions. Some key things I’ve learned from that role that still shape my leadership today include: ● Customer obsession: Learning to start with the customer and work backwards, identifying unstated needs and using data and anecdotes to inform decisions. ● End-to-end ownership: The experience of managing everything from conception to launch, making tough trade-offs, and balancing technical and business needs now helps me guide my teams through projects and complex organisational challenges. ● Stakeholder management: Collaborating across different functions like engineering, design, marketing and sales teams, influencing and building consensus. ● Data-driven decision-making: I’ve learned to identify metrics that matter to back assertions and measure success, and I’m now applying this rigour and process to larger organisational decisions. My experience as a product manager has given me muscle memory in decision-making, problem-solving, and cross-functional leadership, skills that have scaled as my responsibilities have grown. IR: What are some of the top strategies you employ to keep your team at Amazon motivated to deliver outcomes and drive results for both sellers and customers? AM: At Amazon, we operate with a high bar for excellence, and I’ve found that sustained motivation comes from three key strategies centred on Amazon’s customer-obsessed culture and our Leadership Principles: Connecting work to customer impact: We don’t just track metrics; we start every initiative with customer anecdotes, embed feedback loops, and ensure our teams interact with customers to see the real-world impact of their work. Empowering ownership through Two-Way Door decisions: Amazon’s Two-Way Door decision-making framework helps teams distinguish between reversible and irreversible decisions. Reversible (two-way door) decisions can be made quickly, allowing for experimentation and iteration, while irreversible (one-way door) decisions require deeper scrutiny. By fostering a culture in which teams confidently make reversible decisions independently, we enable speed, innovation and calculated risk-taking. Fostering growth and innovation within ‘two-pizza teams’: Amazon structures teams to be small enough that, in theory, they can be fed with two pizzas. I really like this idea because it keeps teams agile, promotes clear ownership, and enables faster decision-making. By structuring teams as small, autonomous units, individuals can take big swings, iterate quickly, and see the tangible impact of their contributions. I’ve found that this approach ensures our teams remain motivated and focused on delivering long-term success for customers and sellers. IR: From your perspective, where do you see the greatest opportunity for emerging retail professionals today? What skills and experiences would set them apart? AM: There is no doubt that retail is evolving rapidly and, having witnessed dramatic transformations in the sector, I believe the next generation of retail leaders must be: Customer-obsessed: Understand the shifting consumer pain points and behaviours, and use insights to drive innovation and solutions. Data-driven and AI-literate: Leverage analytics and AI tools to personalise experiences and optimise operations. Tech-savvy and adaptable: Embrace emerging technologies like generative AI to redefine customer interactions. Innovation-focused: Experiment with new models of engagement and fulfilment. The biggest opportunities lie at the intersection of digital and physical retail convergence, data-driven decision-making, customer-centric innovation, and emerging technology integration. It’s an exciting time in retail and e-commerce and I believe retail professionals who can operate at these intersections will be best positioned to lead in an industry that’s constantly evolving. IR: Is there a standout piece of career advice you have received during your time at Amazon that you still carry with you? AM: The most impactful advice I’ve received at Amazon was straightforward yet has had a profound impact on me and my career: ‘First nail it, then scale it.’ Early in my role managing a specific product feature I took this advice to heart. I focused entirely on mastering my immediate responsibilities – understanding every metric, knowing every customer pain point, and establishing clear success metrics before considering any expansion. This methodical approach helped me avoid the common pitfall of spreading too thin too quickly. Only after demonstrating proficiency in my core responsibilities and establishing clear success did I begin to expand my scope and take on larger initiatives. Today, as I lead larger organisations, this principle continues to guide my leadership approach. It’s taught me that career growth isn’t about racing to the next level, it’s about building a strong foundation to support ever-increasing responsibilities and scope. This philosophy has guided my career growth and continues to shape how I build and lead teams at Amazon today.