Dave Clark, a 23-year Amazon veteran and the driving force behind its huge logistics operation, will join supply chain technology startup Flexport as Chief Executive in September.

Amazon announced last week that Clark planned to leave his role as CEO of its worldwide consumer business on 1st July.

He will join San Francisco, US-based Flexport in September and will for the first six months serve as Co-Chief Executive with Ryan Petersen, Flexport’s Founder and current Chief Executive.

Petersen will then move to an Executive Chair role as Clark becomes the solo Chief Executive next year.

We're excited to have @davehclark officially join @flexport as our next CEO on September 1. Here are all of the details from Founder Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) including what's next for Flexport and why he is transitioning to Executive Chairman. 🧵👇 https://t.co/tt0PubZKzO
— Flexport (@flexport) June 8, 2022

In a LinkedIn post, Clark said: “I have spent the majority of my professional life thinking about solving problems at the intersection of technology and the physical world.”

“That is what I did for most of my 23 years at Amazon. I worked with great teams to build technology enabling a more transparent, efficient delivery of goods to customers.”

He added: “The vital importance of fast, reliable delivery services for homes, small businesses, grocery stores, and more has become clearer over the past two years during the global pandemic.”

“The supply chain has entered everyday national discourse for all the wrong reasons. Put simply, the United States supply chain suffers from a significant fragmentation of technology and process.”

Petersen and his team have thrown themselves at this problem by tackling the most complicated piece of the supply chain: the global cross-border movement of goods, Clark noted.

“It is an area where few technology companies have dared to tread because of the vast array of regulatory rules, intimidating geographical distances, and siloed network of providers.”

Clark continued: “Flexport has not flinched. They have built a technology platform that solves for this challenging integration of technology and the physical world by connecting the entire ecosystem of global trade.”

“This monumental accomplishment is empowering buyers, sellers, and logistics providers of all sizes to grow and scale.”

“Ryan and his team have grown the business to an impressive size and scale and customers love it. I firmly believe that the true potential and magnitude of Flexport’s innovations have only just started to be realised.”

He concluded: “It is for all the reasons above and countless more that I am looking forward to transitioning into the role of CEO in September.”

“I am fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with an incredible team who are building a customer-first, rocket ship of a company focused on architecting and building solutions for the most complicated supply chain problems through world class technology for the physical world.”

Sign up for the free RTIH retail tech newsletter.

Featured