Joy Covey

Joy Covey (April 25, 1963 September 18, 2013) was an American business executive, best known as Amazon's first chief financial officer.

Early life and education Covey was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in San Mateo, California. She dropped out of school at 15 and moved to Fresno, California, and began working as a part-time grocery clerk. She later resumed her education and graduated from California State University, Fresno with a B.S. in Business/Accounting in 1982. In 1989, she graduated from Harvard's J.D./M.B.A. program.

Career

Before Amazon After graduating from California State University, Fresno, she began her career as an accountant at Arthur Young LLP.

Amazon In 1996, Covey joined Amazon, shortly becoming the CFO and then Chief Strategy Officer and raising over $500 million for the company. She left Amazon voluntarily in 2000, it was said that she "was tired of frenetic internet life".

Fortune Magazine said of her:

Other women on our list, like Amazon.com's Joy Covey, learned from mothers who gained strength through suffering. During World War II, Joan Covey, who is Dutch by heritage, lived in Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies). When the Japanese invaded, she was sent to a prison camp for two years. She watched her own mother starve to death there. The hardship fostered an intense self-reliance, which daughter Joy has as well.

Personal life

Covey served as the treasurer of Natural Resources Defense Council before her death, and Covey was also a pilot.