AWS vet lands at rival Google Cloud

Chris Vonderhaar, who was heading up AWS’ massive global datacentre fleet, was said to be departing AWS in June

After 13 years leading Amazon Web Services' datacentre and infrastructure strategy, Chris Vonderhaar has jumped ship to join rival Google Cloud in a blockbuster hire.

Vonderhaar was responsible for the design, planning, construction and operations of AWS' massive datacentre fleet on a worldwide basis before he abruptly left AWS this spring. Amazon and Google datacentres power the companies' massive cloud infrastructure portfolio and cloud services capabilities.

Google confirmed to CRN that Vonderhaar is now vice president of demand and supply management at Google Cloud. However, Google declined to comment on his hiring.

In 2021, news outlet Insider reported that Chris Vonderhaar could be a potential successor to former AWS CEO Andy Jassy, who had been recently promoted to CEO of Amazon.

In his last role at AWS, Vonderhaar was vice president of AWS DataCentre Community. In addition to leading AWS' datacentre global strategy, Vonderhaar was responsible for business development and procurement of utility connections, the AWS renewable energy portfolio, and AWS sustainability teams and business.

This hire is especially interesting because top executives at large IT companies, like Google and Amazon, typically sign non-compete clauses that block or at least limit those executives from working with rival companies.

Google Cloud Vs AWS

Google Cloud, Microsoft and AWS are the world's three largest cloud companies by a wide margin. Each company pours billions of dollars annually into building new data centers to drive more cloud revenue.

All three cloud behemoths compete heavily across the globe in various markets—from cloud computing infrastructure to generative artificial intelligence. Combined, the three technology giants won approximately 65 per cent of the massive $63bn global cloud infrastructure services market.

As of first-quarter 2023, AWS owns 32 per cent of the global cloud services market, followed by Microsoft at 23 per cent share, then Google Cloud at 10 per cent share.

In first-quarter 2023, AWS generated $21.4bn in sales, representing a 16 per cent year-over-year increase. Google Cloud captured $7.5bn in revenue during its first-quarter 2023, up 28 per cent year over year.