Meet the ex-Amazon exec who successfully pitched Prime Day to Jeff Bezos—and invented a $14.2 billion sales empire

Diego Piacentini stands in front of a body of water (Credit: Federico Bernini / Bloomberg—Getty Images)

• Prime Day is Amazon’s most important sales event of the year. It all started when Diego Piacentini, an Amazon executive, noticed the success of Alibaba’s Singles Day in China and pitched Jeff Bezos that his “everything store” do something similar. Today, Prime Day generates billions in revenue for the tech giant.

Amazon Prime Day is one of the most lucrative and influential retail events in the world. Last year, it generated a whopping $14.2 billion in sales, according to Capital One.