Each year, technology companies make headlines as they drive change in the software-defined world. But every so often, the people behind the scenes make headlines and changes of their own. This is why SDxCentral publishes its Headcount column each month to track the latest executive hirings, promotions, and staff changes. Here’s a look at the biggest CEO moves of the first half of 2021.

AWS’ Andy Jassy Replaces Jeff Bezos at Amazon

In perhaps the biggest CEO move thus far, Amazon elevated its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud chief to run the entire company. AWS CEO Andy Jassy took over as Amazon CEO this month while former Amazon boss Jeff Bezos transitioned to an executive chair role on the company’s board. By promoting Jassy, the company stressed the importance of its cloud business in dramatic fashion.

Bezos plans to focus his attention on new products and initiatives. “As executive chair, I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions,” he wrote in an internal letter obtained by CNBC.

Patrick Moorhead, founder and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told SDxCentral he doesn’t expect any significant changes to AWS as a result of Jassy’s promotion. “Jassy was at Amazon almost as long as Bezos, and I believe [both of them] are cut from the same cloth,” he said.

AWS Veteran Adam Selipsky Returns as CEO

To fill Jassy’s shoes as CEO of AWS, Adam Selipsky returned to the company after a five-year break from Amazon, which he spent as the CEO of Tableau.

“Adam is not a new face to AWS. Back in 2005, Adam was one of the first VPs we hired in AWS, and ran AWS’ sales, marketing, and support for 11 years,” Jassy wrote in a blog post about the hire. “Having been in such a senior role at AWS for 11 years, he knows our culture and business well.”

Selipsky “brings strong judgment, customer obsession, team building, demand generation, and CEO experience” to the role, Jassy added.

Selipsky made his debut as AWS’ CEO at MWC Barcelona, where his keynote focused on underlining the telecom industry’s growing importance to the world’s largest cloud provider.

VMware CEO Jumps Ship to Intel

Pat Gelsinger, former VMware CEO, left his post in February to take over as CEO of Intel, replacing the chip giant’s long-time CEO Bob Swan.

Gelsinger spent 30 years of his career rising through Intel’s ranks, where he landed as CTO. During those years at Intel, Gelsinger was key to developing Intel’s original 80486 processor architecture and its Core and Xeon family of processors, making him a familiar face to the company.

“Pat [Gelsinger] is a proven technology leader with a distinguished track record of innovation, talent development, and a deep knowledge of Intel,” said Omar Ishrak, independent chairman of the Intel board, in a statement. “He will continue a values-based cultural leadership approach with a hyper focus on operational execution.”

VMware Recruits Rangarajan Raghuram as CEO

Three months after Gelsinger’s departure, VMware named Rangarajan Raghuram as its new CEO. Raghuram, the company’s former EVP and COO of products and cloud services, moved into his new chief executive role on June 1.

Raghuram joined VMware in 2003, and since then he has helped drive the company’s core virtualization business as well as its software defined data center strategy and more recent cloud computing business.

“I am thrilled to have Raghu step into the role of CEO at VMware. Throughout his career, he has led with integrity and conviction, playing an instrumental role in the success of VMware,” Michael Dell, chairman of the VMware board of directors, said in a statement. “Raghu is now in position to architect VMware’s future, helping customers and partners accelerate their digital businesses in this multi-cloud world.”

The move surprised many industry onlookers who expected another VMware COO, Sanjay Poonen, to assume the role. 

Exabeam Brings In New CEO, Reaches $2.4B Valuation

In June Exabeam hired a new CEO, Michael DeCesare, who was previously president of McAfee and most recently served as CEO and president of ForeScout Technologies.

DeCesare has big plans for the security analytics vendor. “I ultimately believe that our destiny is to be a major player in the larger category called security operations,” he said in an interview with SDxCentral. And with Exabeam’s $2.4 billion valuation, DeCesare’s goals don’t seem too far away.

Exabeam closed a $200 million late-stage funding round during the same week it hired DeCesare. “The [funding] round tells the marketplace just how well positioned Exabeam is to be a big, successful player, and I saw that same opportunity, which is why I jumped at it,” DeCesare said.

Make sure to check out our monthly Headcount column to stay on top of the latest executive moves. If you’d like SDxCentral to report on your company’s movers and shakers, or if you’ve got a tip about layoffs and restructuring, please send the information to Emma Chervek ([email protected]).