Amazon Web Services’ Irish head Mike Beary to step down

Amazon Web Services’ Irish head Mike Beary is to step down from his role as country manager after more than a decade with the company.

In a post on LinkedIn, Mr Beary said he would stay on through the summer to oversee the transition to a new leadership team for the Irish business.

“After over 11 years at Amazon, I’ve decided that the time is right for me to pass on the baton and focus on my next chapter,” he said. “Since returning to Ireland six years ago, I’ve been honoured to support the growth of the company in Ireland from 2,000 to over 6,500 colleagues across the country today. During that time, we have built meaningful partnerships with our neighbours and communities; developed a best-in-class subcontractor and supplier base with Irish owned companies that serves us and our customers around the world; and established AWS as an influential partner to government and to customers from start-ups to unicorns.”

Mr Beary started out his career as a social worker, with a degree in social science from UCD and a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh in social work. Before joining Amazon, he worked as human resources director for the Walt Disney Company.

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Originally from Co Meath, Mr Beary joined Amazon in 2012, before returning to Ireland in 2017 as country manager for Ireland and director of human resources.

During that time, the company has established a number of relationships in the third-level sector, including a collaboration with TU Dublin that will see a number of career paths open up to students, and a commitment to developing computer science skills with University of Limerick. AWS also opened its Start-up Loft to support entrepreneurs.

“Ireland continues to produce world-class entrepreneurs and I’m looking forward to finding new ways to help these innovators establish impactful cultures as they invent the future,” he said.

AWS also recently opened its first district heating scheme in Tallaght that uses excess heat from the data centre and diverts it to the local council offices and other facilities. The company announced it would cut jobs in recent weeks as part of a global cost-cutting plan, but has not yet said how many positions will be lost in Ireland. Amazon employs more than 6,500 people in Ireland, with the majority of those in AWS.

“I’m now looking forward to contributing further to the social and policy life of the country, in addition to my ongoing responsibilities as a board member of Tallaght University Hospital,” Mr Beary said.

Once AWS has a new leader in place, Mr Beary will exit the business, with plans to spend time in California for the annual grape harvest, where he and his husband have collaborated with a small family winery.