Jeff Blackburn had overseen Amazon's corporate venturing investments as well as its merger and acquisition deals prior to moving to Bessemer Venture Partners.

Jeff Blackburn, senior vice-president for business development at US-listed online retailer Amazon for nearly 17 years, has joined venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners as a partner.

Blackburn oversaw Amazon’s corporate venturing investments and more than a hundred acquisitions. He also Amazon’s television and movie studio, music streaming service and advertising unit.

Bessemer’s deals in recent years have included online streaming platform developer Twitch, which Amazon acquired for $970m in 2014.

Tracing its history back more than 100 years…

James Mawson

James Mawson is founder and chief executive of Global Venturing.