Ex-Amazon VP Backs Remote Work, Shares Career Growth Of Remote Leaders; Check Here

Evans also shared that during his time at Amazon, he promoted talented leaders who worked remotely, one of whom even moved to Bengaluru to start a company hub

Evans shared how his leadership contributed to the career growth of remote workers, stating that the first two individuals he promoted to Amazon Director were remote leaders

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While many major tech companies are pushing to end remote work and bring employees back to the office, a retired Amazon vice president sees remote work as a significant opportunity for entrepreneurs. Ethan Evans, who spent 15 years at Amazon and retired as the VP of Prime Gaming, believes that forcing employees to return to the office is like asking them to quit. He also shared that during his time at Amazon, he promoted talented leaders who worked remotely, one of whom even moved to Bengaluru to start a company hub.

"Companies are fighting remote work rather than perfecting it. This is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs. Currently, big companies are forcing people back to work based on beliefs, not evidence, and in a tough economy basically daring people to quit. Assume that in fact, effective remote work is a key competitive advantage. If this is true, then the companies that embrace this rather than fight it will come out far ahead in the future. Entrepreneurs who create tools or solve problems with remote work will prosper,” he wrote on X.

The first two people I promoted to Amazon Director were remote leaders. To get these leaders across the bar, we had to create situations where they could demonstrate independence, good judgment, leadership, and results far from supervision. It was not easy, but here's how we did…

— Ethan Evans (@EthanEvansVP) March 4, 2025

Evans highlighted that no dedicated employee wants to be micromanaged, but there are also "gleeful scammers" who brag about juggling multiple full-time jobs. "These people, and the fear of them, undermine remote work," the former Amazon VP noted. "A believable slacker detection tool that does not feel invasive would be solid gold. I also think a lot of people, given the choice between 'remote work with some monitoring' and 'commute an hour each way to the office' would accept reasonable monitoring.”

Evans shared how his leadership contributed to the career growth of remote workers, stating that the first two individuals he promoted to Amazon Director were remote leaders. "To get these leaders across the bar, we had to create situations where they could demonstrate independence, good judgment, leadership, and results far from supervision. It was not easy, but here's how we did it. Amazon was growing rapidly. One leader relocated to Orange County, California to grow a new office there. The second leader relocated to Bangalore, India, to start a centre for our project there,” he explained.

Amazon Work From Office Mandate

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made it mandatory for all employees to work from the office five days a week starting in January and stressed the need for in-person collaboration and connection to drive innovation. For the previous 15 months, the company had required employees to be in the office at least three days a week, with Jassy noting that this approach led to more effective and seamless collaboration among teams.