Keith Alexander, a retired four-star Army general and former director of the National Security Agency, is leaving Amazon’s board of directors after more than five years.
Alexander, 74, informed the company April 7 that he wouldn’t stand for re-election at its annual meeting next month, according to the company’s proxy statement.
“We’re grateful to General Alexander for his service on our Board since 2020 and for the many contributions he’s made to our company, and we wish him every success in the future,” a spokesperson said in a statement, responding to GeekWire’s inquiry.
No reason was given for his departure. Amazon’s board, which has fluctuated by one or two directors over time, will consist of 11 people after his departure.
Alexander joined Amazon’s board in September 2020, when Jeff Bezos was still CEO and the company was navigating a massive surge in demand during the early days of the pandemic. He previously chaired the board’s Security Committee, which oversees Amazon’s cybersecurity policies, data protection compliance, and response to significant cyber incidents.
Alexander served as commander of U.S. Cyber Command and led the NSA from 2005 to 2014, a tenure that included the surveillance disclosures of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
After retiring from the military, Alexander founded IronNet, a cybersecurity company, serving as CEO and president from 2014 to July 2023 and as board chair until February 2024.
With his departure, eleven members of the board are up for re-election.
- Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chair
- Andy Jassy, president and CEO
- Edith W. Cooper, co-founder of Medley Living and former EVP of Goldman Sachs
- Jamie S. Gorelick, lead independent director; senior counsel at WilmerHale
- Daniel P. Huttenlocher, dean of MIT Schwarzman College of Computing
- Andrew Y. Ng, managing general partner of AI Fund; founder of DeepLearning.AI
- Indra K. Nooyi, former chair and CEO of PepsiCo
- Jonathan J. Rubinstein, former co-CEO of Bridgewater Associates
- Brad D. Smith, president of Marshall University; former CEO of Intuit
- Patricia Q. Stonesifer, former president and CEO of Martha’s Table
- Wendell P. Weeks, chairman, CEO, and president of Corning
Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting will be held virtually May 20.
