Former Amazon Executive Joins Hopin as Chief Operating Officer

London-based online events start up company Hopin just landed Wei Gao as its chief operating offer.

Gao was previously an Amazon executive who was once Jeff Bezos’ “shadow.” From July 2018 to January 2020, Gao was a “shadow advisor” to the founder and executive chairman of the e-commerce giant.

Hopin, founded only two years ago, was recently valued at $7.75 billion after raising $450 million in fresh funding. Johnny Boufarhat founded Hopin in 2019 after falling ill with an autoimmune disease that prevented him from leaving the house.

Boufarhat is Britain’s youngest self-made billionaire, according to the Sunday Times Rich List

The company had experienced breakneck growth during the pandemic as many large in-person events were cancelled.

Amazon announced the news of Gao’s departure last week who spent 16-years with the company. She had held a number of senior positions at Amazon and was most recently vice president of grocery tech, product and supply chain.

“As Hopin enters a new era of innovation, Wei Gao will be a significant addition to our team and through her impressive leadership Wei will inspire innovation in the ways we bring people together for meaningful connection,” said Hopin CEO and founder Johnny Boufarhat.

Gao will join Hopin on Sept. 27, leading the company’s operations.

Hopin lets organizations host gatherings of up to 100,000 people completely digitally, with features for virtual stage talks and one-to-one networking. The company makes its money from software subscriptions for its business customers and invests in onsite conference tools. It acquired event management firm Boomset in June.

“There is an enormous opportunity for the company’s multi-product platform technologies and I’m looking forward to delivering impact to customers and audiences in new, immersive categories,” said Gao.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.