Q&A with Matt Maturo - Senior Program Manager, Amazon Flex Launches

Matt Maturo joined Amazon as a Shift Manager for an Amazon Delivery Station in 2020 and later moved into a program manager role in 2021 managing Launches for Amazon Flex. In this interview, get to know Matt on a personal and professional level as he shares his favorite memory at Amazon, his most innovative work, and how he manages a work/life balance.

What is your favorite Amazon memory?

My favorite Amazon memory was when I had graduated from the Bar Raiser Program. The thing about Amazon, being a big company means having the resources to not only have opportunities in your core work function, but also have opportunities to grow in personal areas of interest. Being a Bar Raiser encompasses a variety of things at Amazon, but at its core, it means that you have a deep understanding of the 16 Leadership Principles. So much that you can help assure excellence when identifying new talent to join the organization. The program takes anywhere from 3 months to a year to complete, so it was pretty special when graduation was awarded, and I am now part of less than 1% of the Amazon workforce! I now lead interviews for roles across all of Amazon, many in roles I have not ever known about! I feel very proud that I am ensuring we build a strong workforce of Amazonians and keep our existing workforce to the highest standards.

What is something you have done that you would consider innovative or pioneering at Amazon so far?

Something I really enjoy about my current role is that I feel empowered to find areas of improvement, make necessary changes and get recognized for my achievements. I work with Amazon Flex, helping to support launching new sites with a flexible and faster delivery option. While having launched regions in new areas, recruiting became harder and more expensive to build up a pool of drivers the further out we would go from major cities. Upon investigation, I was able to deep dive into our data to determine an average expected return. I used this to create a viability model that we could use to forecast future launching sites and notify of the risks early on before decisions were made to plan the demand.

The result of this analysis yielded more accurate decision making when businesses would propose demand forecasts, so that we could adjust to realistic expectations of current driver supply. Now moving forward with launching and expanding our network, we are setting up the new Flex regions with reduced constraints and successful ramp up periods to meet the customer demand across all of the North America.

What brings you passion/excitement to your role and team?

What I think brings me the most excitement is that Amazon Flex is growing exponentially as a service to our customers. As Amazon’s dedication to being customer obsessed continues, Flex is at the forefront of being able to go into new markets for faster delivery than what our partners currently provide. Flex is a fairly young model in the Amazon business, so there is an entrepreneurial spirit that you can feel, a real commitment to piloting new initiatives for the greater understanding of how this delivery system can achieve the business goal. I’d say the ability to work with so many individuals that enjoy their work and have passion for success builds my excitement toward truly impactful returns for our customers.

What do you do for fun/ work life balance?

I like to balance my time at work with spending quality time with the people I love. I live near family and friends, and really enjoy being outdoors and active. I spend my mornings usually at the gym, and then evenings doing work around my house or hiking nearby trails. I love exploring my city, so I will usually be out trying new restaurants, finding a new place to hike, or exploring different seasonal activities with young ones. My current thing is trying to find a place for my family and I to go apple picking for autumn!

Best place you have ever traveled?

I am an avid traveler, and love the adventurous experience whenever I am able! This past year has been most notably memorable, as I caught up on some long-awaited trips to Peru, Costa Rica, and Egypt. The best place I have traveled though is probably Italy. I could go there over and over again and not get tired of it. The train system makes it very easy to move from notable town to town, and Florence will always be one of the most beautiful cities to me. Not to mention that I could have pizza and pasta every day and still not get tired of it!

Amazon is currently hiring Program Managers for various teams within Worldwide Operations including Flex! Click here to learn more.