Amazon’s health business is getting a new leader; Scott McFarlane leaves the reins of Avalara
Neil Lindsaysenior vice president of Amazon Health Serviceshe is leaving his position after five years – completing 15 years at the tech giant.
As head of Amazon’s healthcare business, Lindsay oversaw divisions including Amazon Pharmacy, One Medical, Health AI and the Health Benefits Connector, growing from pilot stages to “a business that serves millions of customers,” according to Doug Herrington, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Stores.
Dr. Roy Schoenberghis successor, a physician who founded telehealth platform Amwell in 2006 and served as CEO and president until two years ago. Amwell works in partnership with major healthcare systems, insurance companies and public health agencies.
Lindsay will step down on July 1 and remain in an advisory role until the end of the year. Earlier in his career at Amazon, he worked in consumer businesses including Kindle, Devices, Prime and Marketing.
In a public letter to colleagues, Lindsay wrote that he approached his role at Amazon Health Services believing that the company’s tools to make everyday life easier “can be applied to one area that has become stubbornly, unnecessarily complex for our customers: health care.” After his departure, he plans to pursue his projects and advise companies outside of health.
– Hugo Sarrazin has taken over the tax software giant Avalarathey succeed Scott McFarlanewho founded the company 22 years ago in Bainbridge Island, Wash. Avalara moved its headquarters to North Carolina after it was acquired by Vista Equity Partners in 2022, while maintaining a Seattle presence.
Sarrazin joins Avalara from professional education platform Udemy, where he serves as president and CEO. McFarlane transitions into an advisory role.
– Nancy Xiao Joined the Consumer Devices team at OpenAIfrom Seattle to San Francisco. “It’s already inspiring and empowering, there are so many exciting problems to solve,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
Xiao previously worked as a product leader at Meta, focusing on VR devices and accessories. The social media giant has made several rounds of cuts this year, including layoffs this month that affect 1,400 Seattle workers, with its VR and AR programs the hardest hit.
Prior to Meta, Xiao was president and CEO of Mason, a Seattle-based custom hardware and software startup for Android devices.
– Overland AISeattle-based developer of autonomous vehicle software and hardware for complex off-road military environments, named Army Maj. Gen. Clay Hutmacher as a consultant. Hutmacher’s career spans more than 40 years across US Special Operations, aviation and joint operations.
Overland AI was ranked 12th in the GeekWire 200, an index of the Pacific Northwest’s top startups, and was a finalist for Next Tech Titan in the 2026 GeekWire Awards.
– Ashraf Alkarmiformer Amazon director, named CEO of Dropbox. In two stints at Amazon, he served as director and GM of Freevee, the streaming service formerly known as IMDb TV, and head of product for Amazon Restaurants. Alkarmi succeeds Dropbox founder Drew Houston and will be based in Seattle.
– InduProa biotech startup pursuing treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases, designated Dr. Amanda Redig as a medical officer. Founded in 2022, the company is jointly headquartered in Seattle and Cambridge, Mass. Redig, a medical oncologist, is involved with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and several life sciences companies.
– Based in British Columbia General Fusion so called Joanna Cameron as general counsel and corporate secretary as the clean energy company prepares to go public. Cameron has been a partner at several law firms and led the legal team at NexGen Energy, a uranium mining company.
