Glenn, great move for W Jenson moving to Electronic Arts.
ERTS owns the Video game market.
Saturday, August 31, 2002
By TODD BISHOP
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Amazon.com named a General Electric Co. veteran as its chief financial officer yesterday, replacing an executive who helped lead the Internet retailer to its first quarterly profit.
Thomas Szkutak will leave his position as chief financial officer of GE lighting to join Amazon in several weeks, the Seattle company said. The announcement came a day after GE said it would combine the lighting division with its appliance unit to reduce costs and simplify its corporate structure.
Szkutak, who will also hold the title of senior vice president, will bring to Amazon "a terrific blend of financial, operational, and international expertise," Jeff Bezos, the company's chief executive, said in a statement. Bezos said he expects Szkutak (pronounced "Skoo-tack") to help the company drive down its costs, allowing it to further drop the prices it charges customers.
Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said she did not know if Szkutak's position at GE would have been eliminated or otherwise affected by that company's restructuring, but she said Amazon began talking with Szkutak about its chief financial officer post well before the combination of the GE units was publicly announced.
Szkutak was not available for comment yesterday. In the news release about his appointment, he called himself "a dedicated customer" of Amazon and "a big fan of the company and its mission of putting the customer first."
Szkutak has been with GE for more than 20 years. Before becoming chief financial officer of GE Lighting, he oversaw the financial operations of GE Plastics in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India, according to Amazon. He also worked as executive vice president for finance for GE Investments.
At Amazon, Szkutak replaces Warren Jenson, who left this summer to become chief financial and administration officer of entertainment software company Electronic Arts. Jenson, who had joined Amazon from Delta Air Lines, also worked previously as chief financial officer of GE unit NBC.
During Jenson's tenure as Amazon's chief financial officer, the company experienced its first quarterly profit according to generally accepted accounting principles, reporting net income of $5 million, or 1 cent per share, for the fourth quarter of last year. The result surprised investors and analysts, who had expected a profit on a pro-forma basis, a practice that excludes certain costs.
Jenson was respected by Amazon investors for his ability to cut costs, something that is ingrained in GE's corporate culture, said Dan Geiman, an analyst with McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle. In the same way, Geiman said, Szkutak's history with GE should be good for Amazon as it works for consistent profitability.
"Somebody who comes out of that kind of environment ties in very well with them," Geiman said.
During the second quarter of this year, Amazon reported a loss of $94 million, compared with a loss of $168 million during the same quarter the previous year. Sales for quarter rose 21 percent to $806 million.
Last Monday, the company cut its price point for free shipping to $25 from $49, hoping to attract more shoppers to its site and boost sales.
seattlepi.nwsource.com
Oh! Amazon.com, the world's largest Internet retailer, said it won't honor discounts of up to 90 percent for RCA televisions after a glitch resulted in a flurry of orders for $1,000 sets priced as low as $100.
>>"Word spread like wildfire," said Joseph Spiro, 25, an East Brunswick, N.J., resident who placed an order for a 36-inch set even though he wasn't in the market for one. He said the TV had a list price of $1,049 and was offered for $100 with free shipping included.
Amazon.com declined to say how many orders were placed. The company is investigating how the pricing error occurred, Smith said
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