Amazon elevates Ben Rolleston to lead Prime business across APAC

MUMBAI: Amazon has handed one of its longest-serving executives a bigger shopping basket. Ben Rolleston has been elevated to Head of Prime APAC, taking charge of Amazon’s Prime membership business across the Asia-Pacific region as the company sharpens its focus on subscriber growth and customer engagement.

In his expanded role, Rolleston will oversee commercial strategy, subscriber acquisition, customer marketing, product development and lifecycle engagement across Amazon’s Prime ecosystem, including Prime Shopping, Prime Video and Prime Music.

Announcing the appointment on social media, Rolleston described the role as an opportunity to accelerate Prime’s growth across the region while thanking Arno Lenior for the opportunity.

The promotion marks another milestone in a career that has spanned media, technology, subscription services and digital content. Most recently, Rolleston served as Head of APAC Enterprise Business Development at Amazon, where he led regional growth initiatives across consumer and enterprise businesses.

During that tenure, he helped launch Amazon’s first enterprise SaaS initiative in the Asia-Pacific region, developed partner-led customer acquisition strategies and led what the company described as a global-first enterprise partnership with Foxtel Commercial.

Before that, Rolleston spent three years as Country Manager and Managing Director of Audible Australia, where he managed a nine-figure profit and loss business while driving more than 20 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue and customer engagement. His responsibilities spanned brand marketing, content commissioning, product innovation and AI-led initiatives, while he also served on Audible’s global leadership team.

His earlier stint as Head of Sales and Business Development for Alexa ANZ saw him help launch Alexa, Echo and Fire TV devices across Australia and New Zealand in 2018. He also led strategic partnerships with brands including Qantas, Westpac, AGL and ABC, expanding Alexa’s footprint across commerce, entertainment and smart home services.

Prior to joining Amazon, Rolleston held senior leadership positions at Viacom International Media Networks, where he served as Vice President of Commercial and Content Distribution for Australia and New Zealand. There, he oversaw content licensing, OTT partnerships, digital product development and commercial strategy for brands including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, while managing partnerships with companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Netflix.

Outside Amazon, Rolleston also serves as Chair of Surfing NSW, where he is involved in strategy, government engagement, funding and athlete development.

The appointment comes as Amazon continues to strengthen Prime as a multi-service subscription offering, combining shopping benefits with entertainment, music and digital services to deepen customer loyalty across international markets.