Panay has been instrumental in creating Surface devices and much of their success and will no longer be presenting at Microsoft’s event on Thursday. He will remain at Microsoft for a couple more weeks as part of a transition process before joining Amazon.
Panay will replace Dave Limp, Amazon’s outgoing hardware chief. Limp announced in August that he plans to leave in the coming months after a 13-year career at Amazon, leaving big shoes to fill. Amazon will also host a devices and services event on Wednesday, where Limp is expected to appear.
Panay will lead Amazon’s division for its Alexa and Echo speakers. Bloomberg reports. It is unclear what his job title will be, and both Amazon and Microsoft declined to comment. BloombergThe report.
In recent years, Amazon has been working to expand its hardware footprint to robots and even home surveillance drones. Amazon is also in the process of acquiring the Roomba iRobot robot vacuum cleaner for $1.7 billion. If regulators approve the deal, Amazon will have a slew of hardware, including Alexa devices, Ring doorbells and other Amazon smart home products.
