Amazon's Leo satellite business has appointed its first dedicated finance VP, another sign the company is building the satellite venture into a more independent business.
Mike Recupero, who most recently served as Alexa's finance chief, was named Leo's VP of finance earlier this month, according to people familiar with the move. The newly created role makes him the first VP solely overseeing Leo's finances.
Previously, Recupero spent about a year as GameStop's CFO after serving as finance chief for several Amazon businesses, including Prime Video and North America retail.
Until now, Leo's finances were overseen by executives who also managed Alexa, supported by more junior finance leaders.
The appointment reflects how Amazon is assembling a seasoned leadership team around Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper.
Over the past two years, Leo has also recruited former GitLab chief revenue officer Chris Weber as vice president of sales and marketing and former T-Mobile executive Clint Patterson as chief marketing officer. VP of technology Rajeev Badyal leads the overall Leo business and reports to Panos Panay, SVP of devices, Alexa, and Leo.
Recupero will primarily oversee Leo's multibillion-dollar infrastructure buildout, including satellite manufacturing and launches, as well as the integration of Globalstar, the satellite communications company Amazon is acquiring for $11.6 billion, the people said.
Amit Singh has replaced Recupero as Alexa's finance lead.
Leo is one of Amazon's biggest long-term bets beyond its core retail and cloud businesses. CEO Andy Jassy previously said Leo already had a series of revenue commitments from enterprise and government customers and is expected to generate meaningful growth and returns for Amazon. The company said earlier this month that Leo has completed 14 missions and launched 396 satellites so far, making it the third-largest satellite constellation in orbit.
Wall Street is also growing more bullish on the business. Bank of America recently estimated Leo could generate $20 billion to $25 billion in annual revenue by 2032 and eventually be worth $200 billion to $275 billion.
The growing enthusiasm has not eliminated the risks. A Blue Origin rocket that Amazon plans to use for future Leo missions exploded during a ground test in June. Leo's VP Badyal sought to reassure employees at the time, saying such setbacks are an expected part of spaceflight and that the company would continue pressing ahead.
Amazon declined to comment.
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Eugene is Business Insider’s Chief Tech Correspondent, where he leads coverage of Amazon. His reporting spans the company’s retail operations, AWS, Alexa, and its secretive internal work culture.Previously, he worked at CNBC, Fortune Magazine Korea, and Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun. He holds degrees from NYU and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.In 2022, Eugene broke a story uncovering Amazon’s practice of deceptively enrolling customers in Prime and deliberately making cancellation difficult. A year later, the Federal Trade Commission sued the company, citing his reporting. That case culminated in a record $2.5 billion settlement in 2025.His reporting has earned multiple honors, including the SF Press Club’s Bay Area Journalism Award and SPJ NorCal’s Excellence in Journalism Award.Eugene lives in the Bay Area. Contact him via email at [email protected], or Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at 650-942-3061. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. ExpertiseAmazon, Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, e-commerce, and cloud computing.Popular ArticlesAmazon:Internal Amazon emails give an exclusive look at how CEO Andy Jassy has started to run the company, with obsessive attention to the retail business and what some employees feel is micromanagingAndy Jassy will be the next CEO of Amazon. Insiders dish on what it's like to work for Jeff Bezos' successor, who built AWS into a $40 billion business.Internal documents show Amazon has for years knowingly tricked people into signing up for Prime subscriptions. 'We have been deliberately confusing,' former employee says.Inside Amazon's flailing brick-and-mortar ambitions: missed projections, pressure to cut costs, and a war with Whole FoodsInside Amazon's complex employee-review system, where workers feel left in the dark and managers expect to give 5% of reports bad reviewsAfter 28 years, 'Day 2' finally arrives at AmazonAWS, Alexa, healthcare:Inside Amazon's struggle to break into the lucrative market for SaaS business applications, including an internal pitch to buy $38 billion HubSpotInside Amazon's struggle to crack Nvidia's AI-chip dominanceAmazon's AI data center dream runs into the reality of 'zombie' facilities, higher costs, and labor shortagesAmazon is gutting its voice assistant, Alexa. Employees describe a division in crisis and huge losses on 'a wasted opportunity.'Amazon is working on a new 'Remarkable Alexa,' but internal politics and technical issues plague the projectAmazon projected huge losses from its healthcare business in 2024, but strong sales growth, internal document reveals
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