John Rossman
Business Advisor to Management, Author, Keynote Speaker
John Rossman is an advisor to Fortune 500 companies and startups on strategy and leadership. He has over 30 years of experience including an executive role at Amazon launching the marketplace business and as Managing Partner at Alvarez and Marsal for 12 years. He has authored 3 books on Amazon’s culture of innovation and conducts keynote speeches on strategy and leadership.
EXPERIENCE
Former Amazon Executive
Responsible for the launching and scaling the merchant integration team and played a key role in launching and scaling the Amazon marketplace business, which is now over 50% of all units sold at Amazon.com. Also responsible for the enterprise services business with responsibilities for Toys R Us, Target.com, NBA.com and other great brands.
Speaker
Frequent keynote disruption speaker and one of the best innovation speakers, John leads workshops on a wide variety of innovation, internet of things, digital strategy, and creating a culture of agility, trial and error, scaling and accountability. His goal is to give people tools they can immediately use to operate differently.
Advisor
Rossman Partners helps it’s clients compete and win in the digital era. I work with my clients to both define strategy and create change for the organization. Bringing a broad range of expertise and trusted partners to the table, I first listen and understand, and then help create a customized approach for your situation.
Media Analyst
Sought after expert commentary regarding Amazon as interviewed by New York Times, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg, BBC, Geekwire and many others.
Author
Author of Think Like Amazon: 50 1/2 Ideas to Become a Digital Leader. Published by McGraw Hill. Order your copy today at Amazon HERE
Author of The Amazon Way on IoT: 10 Principles for Every Leader from the World’s Leading Internet of Things Strategies. This is a must-read for business people wanting to understand how connected devices could impact their business and industry and who need to build a strategy and culture for IoT.
Author of The Amazon Way: Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles. In The Amazon Way, John introduces readers to the unique corporate culture of the world’s largest Internet retailer, with a focus on the fourteen leadership principles that have guided and shaped its decisions and its distinctive leadership culture — as only an insider could do.
My Story
Mr. Rossman is an expert at digital business models, operations and organizing programs. He has led engagements on developing innovation processes, Internet of Things strategies, marketplace and API driven platform business models. He is a sought after speaker on creating a culture of operational excellence and innovation. Mr. Rossman has worked with clients across various industries, including retail, insurance, education, healthcare, consumer products, industrial products and transportation.
Mr. Rossman’s notable assignments include T-Mobile, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Nordstrom and several of the world’s leading retail and insurance organizations.
Prior to Rossman Partners, John was an executive at Amazon.com where he played a key role in launching the Marketplace business and third party selling platform, and led the enterprise service business.
KEY MEDIA INTERVIEWS
Innovation, the Beginners Mind and a Custom $1,000 Computer Keyboard
The best inventors have a high level of expertise in a particular arena, and they simultaneously maintain a beginners' mind. And that's hard to do. But that's what you have to do if you want to invent and pioneer. — Jeff Bezos There is no shortage of experts....
CFO Bookshelf Podcast — What Is the Amazon Way?
Every current and past senior executive at Amazon will say their leadership principles are behind every groundbreaking innovation. Every student of business knows about Amazon's obsession with its customers. But that's only one of the leadership principles. In this...
Principles — Swim Lanes for Strategy and Culture
Any leader, from a CEO of a large company to the manager of a small team, is trying to get more throughput, more efficiency, get more done. We think we want a fast organization. But speed can take you in any direction, including the wrong one. It’s not just velocity...
Invent Like an Owner Podcast: How Amazon Built its Merchant Selling Platform
One of my favorite conversations ever. The Invent Like an Owner Podcast is a recent endeavor by Dave Schappell to capture the early history of Amazon by the people who created so many of the great experiences, technology and strategies we take for granted today. ...
Wes Arens
Digital and Innovation Advisor
Boston College
Resides in Bainbridge Island, Washington
EXPERIENCE
Former Amazon Executive
Vice President of Merchant Services and Sales with Amazon where he was in charge of the commercialization of Amazon’s overall enterprise services business and responsible for driving enterprise direct sales, channels, alliances, and partnerships.
Background
Mr. Arens was a Managing Director at managing consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal. Prior to that he was Vice President of Merchant Services and Sales with Amazon where he was in charge of the commercialization of Amazon’s overall enterprise services business and responsible for driving enterprise direct sales, channels, alliances, and partnerships.
Mr. Arens was a senior executive at Syncra Systems, a supply chain management company providing B2B internet-based collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment solutions. Mr. Arens started his career at IBM and served in various senior level sales management roles during IBM’s historic transformation from a hardware company to a services company. When he left he was responsible for IBM’s overall global B2B market place initiatives.
Speaker
Frequent keynote speaker and leads workshops on a wide variety of innovation, internet of things, digital strategy and creating a culture of agility, trail and error, scaling and accountability. My goal is to give people tools they can immediately use to operate differently (like we would at Amazon). Please contact me to discuss your event (johnerossman@gmail.com)
Consultant to CEOs
Mr. Arens’ specialty is creating pragmatic digital strategies based on Amazon’s principles of leadership and customer innovation. Wes collaborates closely with CEO’s to refine their own vision for digital, define their unique market point of view for superior customer value, and build a roadmap to improve business outcomes. He knows the hard questions necessary to challenge and transform the business and can objectively assess internal capabilities and gaps and illuminate blind spots including talent acquisition. In the end Mr. Arens helps organizations build a plan to accelerate the speed and quality of day to day decision making. His approach has helped dozens of companies unlock their own brand of innovation and prioritize the bets necessary to transform and improve results.
My Story
Mr. Arens has over thirty years of experience as a high tech senior operator and successfully advising Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries on digital strategy. His notable clients include Kirby Corporation, Patterson Companies, Georgia Pacific, Iron Mountain, Boeing, Intralinks, True Blue, Regence Blue Cross, inBloom, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Microsoft. He has been a keynote speaker to the Hunter Miller Group, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Damco/Maersk, Park City Group, Country Financial, Sios Technology, and ATB Canadian Bank.
Specialties
- Preeminent independent authority on Amazon.com
- Digital disruption
- API driven business models and architectures
- Internet of Things strategies, business models and programs
- Customer experience
- Customer self-service
- Company integration
- Distribution and sales channel management
- E-commerce
- Strategy
- Large scale merger planning and integration
- Systems and process integration
- Multi-channel integration
- Large-scale program management
- Social sector multi-party complex engagements