By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor
Jessica Stewart grew up in Paris Crossing, Indiana, a town so small that the Amazon Air Hub in Hebron — its largest field operation in the world — would dwarf it. Yet the small town girl is Director of Operations of the Hub — and master of it all.
The campus includes an 800,000 sq. ft. sortation building that sits on a 600-acre campus featuring seven buildings, an expansive new ramp for aircraft parking, and a multi-story vehicle parking structure. In all, it is an estimated $1.5 billion total investment. Three dozen flights, filled with cargo, take off each day. The building features a solar rooftop panel installation that feeds all the electricity it generates into the local power grid to help power nearby homes and businesses. The campus possesses innovative robotics technology that power its operations.
Its more than 2,000 employees answer to Jessica Stewart, though she’s just fine with being called ‘Jess.’
Amazon launched its operations on August 5, 2021, at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, which serves as the central hub for Amazon Air’s U.S. cargo network.
Stewart has been Director of Operations since August, 2023, though she’s been with the company for seven years.
And she’s staring at peak season.
Overseeing the largest robotics floor in Amazon and watching the clockwork sorting and loading and unloading of hundreds of packages a day entrusted to Amazon — along a sortation line to and from semis and tugs and monster planes and delivery trucks. All to get those packages to customers doorsteps. This is just a good day’s work for Stewart and her well-orchestrated team.
The thing at the top of her mind is: Safety.
“My job is to keep all these people safe,” she said, looking over the air field from a panoramic 4th floor perspective. She’s deservedly proud of her safety record and means to protect it.
Stewart is a graduate of Purdue’s College of Technology with a degree in organizational leadership and supervision. She carries herself with authority. On her shoulders rests a lot of responsibility.
“We can’t lose ourselves in the process,” she said. “We have to always focus on how can we be more efficient — while maintaining safety.”
She is definitely a people person and strives herself to be “a good person and a good leader.”
“We live by our leadership principles,” Stewart said. “At Amazon, we strive to be the earth’s best employer.”
That means, always thinking “how do we do the right thing” and how do we “earn trust.”
For Stewart, that starts with being a good listener.
“I try hard to know what our employees are going through,” she said, and she has set up multiple avenues for that intelligence — employee groups, bulletin boards affinity groups — and just basic listening.
“We want all our employees to feel at home at Amazon, and we strive to create the best working environment,” she said. “We value diverse perspectives, create an equal playing field, hold true to who we are, and provide opportunities to advance.”
And, employees are encouraged to be involved in the community because “we have the ability to help and want to be a great partner.” Employees and the company have been involved with the Free Store Food Bank, Life Learning Center, Go Pantry, Make a Wish, Welcome House and the Emergency Shelter of NKY, to name just a few local charity and service organizations.
For the immediate – peak — future, Jess Stewart is hiring seasonal help and preparing for millions of packages to come through the hub — and get delivered to anxious customers in good time for Christmas. It’s likely to be a record season — and she’s determined to deliver. Safely.
