I first met Panos Panay in 2012, around the time Microsoft was trying to break into the productivity tablet space. He was second to Steven Sinofsky, then the face of Windows and any devices in its orbit. When Sinofsky left (or was forced out), Panay took the helm, and brought with him his soon-to-be signature passion.
Panay arguably built the Surface business, and now, not quite two years since he joined Amazon, he's aiming to propel Amazon's devices business to new heights, but mostly on the back of a piece of software (or AI). In a way, the effort to make Alexa+ the foundation of all things Amazon devices is reminiscent of Windows' place in the Microsoft ecosystem: it's the hub on which all things turn (until Copilot, at least).
