Former Amazon CFO Joy Covey dies in bike collision

Joy Covey, the first chief financial officer for online retail giant Amazon, died in a bike collision in San Mateo County, California on Wednesday.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that California Highway Patrol officer Arturo Montiel did confirm that Covey, 50, was the bicyclist killed in a collision. She collided with a van that was turning while riding downhill. Monteil said that the 22-year-old driver of the van was fully cooperative and was not cited.

Police are still investigating, but say that drugs or alcohol do not seem to be a factor.

“It's a very sad day for Amazon," Amazon spokesperson Mary Osako told CNET Thursday. “Joy was a wonderful human being and treasured colleague, and we will miss her very much.”

Covey was with Amazon from 1996 and was considered a key player when the company made its initial public offering in 1997. She oversaw the company’s most significant expansions as it became an international business and began selling more products beyond books. She was considered a visionary and had law and MBA degrees from Harvard.

In 2002, she spoke with the Harvard Law Bulletin about dropping out of high school at age 15 and working at a grocery store. She did finally decide to go to Fresno State at 17, graduating in two and a half years before going to Harvard.

Covey left Amazon in 2000, focusing on her family and environmental causes. She had been working for the National Resources Defense Council as treasurer and began the Beagle Foundation.

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