DiscoverThe Peterman PodAmazon VP On Promotions, Getting Fired Twice, Working With Bezos | Ethan Evans
Amazon VP On Promotions, Getting Fired Twice, Working With Bezos | Ethan Evans

Amazon VP On Promotions, Getting Fired Twice, Working With Bezos | Ethan Evans

Update: 2025-08-011
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Ethan Evans went from being fired twice because of poor soft skills to getting promoted to Vice President at Amazon with a team of over 800 engineers. I asked him about everything he learned along the way.


We discussed:

• Being fired for poor soft skills

• What VP promotions look like

• Working with Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy (current Amazon CEO)

• VP performance reviews

• Stack ranking, PIPs and how managers can fire anyone

• Advice for his younger self


Timestamps:

(00:00 ) Intro

(01:01 ) Experience before Amazon

(05:03 ) Getting fired twice & learnings

(14:02 ) Joining Amazon

(16:02 ) What VP promotions look like

(26:03 ) Promotion failure story

(29:14 ) Integrating Twitch into Amazon

(33:48 ) Jeff Bezos vs Andy Jassy stories

(36:53 ) VP performance reviews

(41:10 ) Stack ranking & PIPs

(46:11 ) A manager can fire anyone they want

(50:45 ) Advice for his younger self

(53:03 ) Outro


Where to find Ethan:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/

• X/Twitter: https://x.com/EthanEvansVP

• Newsletter: https://levelupwithethanevans.substack.com/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-BAdkBGjOIlccGLZ3jbLiA


Where to find Ryan:

• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/

• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman

• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/

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Amazon VP On Promotions, Getting Fired Twice, Working With Bezos | Ethan Evans

Amazon VP On Promotions, Getting Fired Twice, Working With Bezos | Ethan Evans

Ryan Peterman