Bezos Earth Fund appoints former Amazon SVP as its new leader

A former Amazon senior vice president who oversaw the company’s Alexa teams is taking the helm at the Bezos Earth Fund, a $10 billion climate philanthropy established by his old boss.

Tom Taylor announced the move this week, saying he was thrilled to “lead with the bold mandate to invent our way out of Earth’s environmental challenges with a combination of long-term thinking, technical curiosity and excellent execution.”

Taylor was a 23-year Amazon veteran when he left in 2023. He joined the company as a director of operations for fulfillment centers and went on to oversee 10,000 engineers, product leaders and other employees working on the Alexa smart speaker. On leaving his role, Taylor updated his LinkedIn job title to “Relaxed” and his employer to “@Ease.” 

Taylor succeeds Andrew Steer, who stepped down in February. “For some time, I’ve been hoping to get back to my roots, focusing on international development and the interaction of the environment, finance and the economy,” Steer wrote at the time. His previous role was president and CEO of the World Resources Institute.

The Bezos Earth Fund has emerged as a major player in climate philanthropy since it was established in 2020 with the mission to give away $10 billion of Jeff Bezos’ fortune. The fund is noted for its work on AI and conservation, among other areas. It’s also attracted criticism from environmental groups for its advocacy for carbon markets.