The architect of Amazon’s supply chain on running a startup with your spouse

For at least two decades, former Amazon executive Dave Clark ended his work week the same way: a standing Friday date night with his wife, Leigh Anne.

Over dinner, the Clarks would talk through the “peak and pit” of their weeks. The ritual often revolved around Amazon, where Clark played a central role in building the logistics infrastructure that helped launch the e-commerce era.

During those years, Leigh Anne was a sounding board for her husband. In the process, she had a front-row seat to Amazon’s growth from what she called “a baby to a behemoth.”

By the time Clark left Amazon in 2022, he was CEO of the Worldwide Consumer division and one of billionaire founder Jeff Bezos’ top lieutenants.

Dave Clark at Auger headquarters Monday.David Jaewon Oh for NBC News

But these days, Fridays for the Clarks look very different.

Their dinner date has morphed into afternoon cocktails — a bourbon with Diet Coke for her and a Manhattan for him. And the conversation isn’t focused on Amazon anymore. It’s about Auger, the supply-chain startup they run together.

In their first joint interview from Auger’s Seattle office, the Clarks described how their marriage and complementary skill sets are shaping the company.

“We’ve been together for so long that we kind of just read each other’s minds,” Leigh Anne said. Working together, she said, “felt like a natural fit.”