Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has spent two decades trailing Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the space-exploration race. To fix this, Bezos has turned to a trusted Amazon.com lieutenant known for getting products out the door.

Incoming Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, who shepherded Alexa’s introduction in 2014, is a fierce guardian of Amazon and Bezos’ leadership principles, which put a premium on speed and solving customer problems.

"Dave has an outstanding sense of urgency, brings energy to everything, and helps teams move very fast,” Bezos told employees on Monday in an email seen by Bloomberg.