Silicon Valley, CA: Karthik Ramakrishnan, a veteran AI executive who spent 14 years at Amazon, has joined Google Cloud as Vice President within its Data Cloud organization. Ramakrishnan, who played a key role in shaping Amazon’s AI strategy, announced the move in a LinkedIn post, describing his new role as part of the emerging “Agentic Era” in artificial intelligence.
“My focus is helping this world-class team build the autonomous data platform of the future,” Ramakrishnan wrote. “I can’t wait to dive back into the ‘hard things’ and see what we can build together next.”
At Amazon, Ramakrishnan helped launch Alexa and contributed to the development of Amazon Nova foundation models, which underpin the company’s next-generation AI systems. His work, he noted, spanned the evolution from conversational AI to multi-modal AGI (Artificial General Intelligence).
Before joining Amazon in 2012, Ramakrishnan worked at Microsoft for three years following its acquisition of Tellme Networks, where he served as a senior platform engineer. He officially started his new role at Google in September 2025.
The move follows recent leadership changes within Amazon’s AI division. Rohit Prasad, the executive who led the company’s AI initiatives and oversaw the development of Nova models, departed in late 2025. In a company memo, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced the creation of a new organization combining the Nova and model research teams with its custom silicon and quantum computing units, now led by Peter DeSantis, a 27-year company veteran.
Amazon also recently unveiled its Nova 2 models during the AWS re:Invent 2025 conference, reinforcing its ambition to compete with leading AI players like OpenAI and Google in the race to build more advanced AI systems.
Microsoft’s C.J. Mahoney Joins Meta as Chief Legal Officer
In another major executive move across the tech industry, C.J. Mahoney, Corporate Vice President and top legal executive at Microsoft, has joined Meta as its new Chief Legal Officer, according to a report by Axios.
Mahoney spent five years at Microsoft, initially as Deputy General Counsel for international trade and Azure, later becoming Corporate Vice President and General Counsel for product, services, and go-to-market legal divisions. Before joining Microsoft, he served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 2018 to 2020 under President Donald Trump.
At Meta, Mahoney succeeds Jennifer Newstead, who recently took on the role of General Counsel at Apple.
Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to realign its legal leadership. The company promoted Jonathan Palmer to Chief Legal Officer in September 2025, following the departure of Hossein Nowbar, who is now President and Chief Legal Officer at ServiceNow.
Key Takeaways
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Karthik Ramakrishnan joins Google Cloud as VP, bringing 14 years of Amazon AI expertise.
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Amazon reshuffles its AI and research divisions under Peter DeSantis after Rohit Prasad’s exit.
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Microsoft’s C.J. Mahoney transitions to Meta as Chief Legal Officer, replacing Jennifer Newstead.
Ruchi Kumar is the associate editor at Entrepreneur News Network and TVW News India, where she leads editorial strategy, brand storytelling, and startup ecosystem coverage. With a strong focus on innovation, business, and marketing insights, he curates impactful narratives that spotlight India’s evolving entrepreneurial landscape.