User:Kiwanispool

The Seattle Times has a story about how Amazon's senior vice president for its international consumer business, Diego Piacentini, is taking a two-year leave of absence from the company so he can run the Italian government's digital technology office.

According to the story, "In 2000, Piacentini, now 55, joined an upstart Amazon from Apple. More recently he has been in charge of Amazon’s ambitious overseas efforts, which include a big bet on India and a significant ramp up in Europe. He’s also a big holder of Amazon shares. Among the company’s top brass, as of early 2015 he was second only to Bezos, according to a proxy filing.

"Piacentini will work pro-bono starting this summer."

The story notes that Italian Premier Matteo Renzi has been focused on expanding Italy's digital footprint, in part so he can attract more foreign investment dollars to the country; the notion that Piacentini might be able to help took root when Renzi and his leadership team visited Silicon Valley.

As for Piacentini, he is saying that he intends to bring Amazon mentality to the Italian government - to "think big and stay focused on the customer."

Now, it seems to me that this could be part of a broader trend (that we're certainly seeing here in the US) of wealthy executives getting involved in politics, believing they can bring business acumen to the way government works. There may be some differences - Piacentini, being an Amazon veteran, inevitably will bring a "today is day one," customer-centric focus to Italy's digital initiatives.

This isn't always the case. Some senior executives tend to think it is all about them, serving as pictures of narcissism rather than of servant-leadership.

But I do think that it could be Eye-Opening if this works. And if it does, maybe we will be seeing "Bezos 2020" bumper stickers.

Stranger things have happened. (And do. Lately, almost every day.)