Alessandro Carbone, general manager of Amazon’s fulfillment center in West Deptford is the featured guest on the latest episode of the Learn and Be Curious podcast, hosted by Amazon’s CEO of Worldwide Stores, Doug Herrington.
The episode, titled “Operating at Amazon,” offers a rare glimpse into the daily responsibilities of a leader managing a 665,000-square-foot facility. With 3,000 associates and millions of items under his purview, Carbone compares his role to that of a “mayor of a small town.” His duties range from managing facility infrastructure and financials to addressing the personal well-being of his team and ensuring the fulfillment center operates like a “flowing river.”
Carbone’s journey to Amazon is as unconventional as his current role. A decade ago, he was a practicing lawyer in Italy. While pursuing an MBA in Switzerland, he applied for an internship through Amazon’s Pathways program—a three-year development track designed to build operations leaders from the ground up. He credits his willingness to step outside his comfort zone as the catalyst for his career transformation.
“When you stretch yourself and when you push yourself to learn new things, this is where you are improving,” Carbone shared during the episode. “And this is not helpful only in the professional way. It’s a great life skill.”
Herrington and Carbone discussed how Amazon’s unique culture and AI-driven tools have changed the day-to-day work of an operations leader. According to Carbone, the facility receives and sends out approximately 100 trucks daily, requiring constant coordination. AI has revolutionized the speed at which his team can identify root causes of operational hurdles, reducing analysis time from hours to seconds.
Carbone also emphasized his philosophy of “service leadership,” which involves walking the floor to listen to associates, empowering his team to take risks rather than micromanaging, and maintaining an organized workplace to ensure safety.
The Learn and Be Curious podcast, launched by Amazon to highlight the problem-solving and testing behind the company’s innovations, is available on Amazon Music, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
