Mr. Amazon Steps Out -

Mr. Amazon Steps Out -
“By allowing us to take their donation public,” she added, “the world quickly knew that Jeff Bezos supported marriage equality.”
The appearances and actions are a new look for Mr. Bezos.
“He’s getting thanked at the Golden Globes and targeted by presidential tweet tantrums — not even Steve Jobs had
that kind of pop-culture currency,” said Margaret O’Mara, a professor of history at the University of Washington, who curated a museum exhibit in Seattle endowed by Mr. Bezos.
“The article doesn’t describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with every
day,” Mr. Bezos said in an email to the company’s employees after the article came out.
Some of the people who know Mr. Bezos said his new public face was for business expediency.
“The purchase of Whole Foods was a moment when people looked up
and recognized this company as a force in the economy,” said Stacy Mitchell, a co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit advocacy group for local businesses, which has published a critical report on Amazon’s impact on jobs and communities.
Mr. Bezos has always been happy to play the role of Amazon’s chief pitchman, especially when he
perceives some benefit to Amazon customers from doing so, people who have worked with him said.