Growing Up on the Court
It’s not uncommon for a child to have hoop dreams. To one day play professional basketball is on many kids’ bucket lists, just like it was for Leilani Estavan. But Estavan didn’t know her hoop dreams would lead her to Amazon, where she leads operations for a Las Vegas facility with over 5,000 hourly employees and 130 leaders. At 855,000 sq. ft., Estavan runs one of Amazon’s largest sites.
Before leading at Amazon, Estavan led on the court; basketball has always been at her core, which has shaped her career path. She started playing basketball with her brother in a Pee Wee program around five years old. Estavan remembers winning the championship game by taking the winning shot from a pass from her brother. The feeling of being down by one and making the shot is a feeling she’s been chasing ever since.
“That feeling that I felt…it was just amazing,” she said.
In 1999, after high school, Estavan went on to play basketball at Oregon State University, where she earned a degree in communications. She then went on to play overseas in Greece. That was a hard experience for Estavan as she was one of only two people around her who spoke English. When the opportunity came to become a middle school and high school basketball coach, she took it.
When Estavan began considering a pivot, a friend introduced her to Amazon and pointed out how closely the company’s culture aligned with her coaching values. The emphasis on building strong teams, developing leaders, and pursuing ambitious goals felt familiar, and she quickly recognized how her strengths on the court could translate into this new arena. That realization made the move to Amazon feel less like leaving basketball and more like expanding on the lessons it had already taught her.
“Moving from coaching to corporate wasn’t about leaving basketball,” said Estavan. “I carried its lessons in leadership, teamwork, and resilience with me. The court gave me passion, but this new stage gives me growth, perspective, and the chance to apply those same values on a scale.”
From Basketball to Corporate
Since 2013, Estavan has risen through six roles at Amazon, starting as an area manager, to operations manager, talent acquisition ambassador, senior operations manager, site lead, assistant general manager, and now general manager. Her role involves managing logistics, staffing, performance, and process improvements for a high-volume e-commerce distribution site.
Like many athletes, Estavan gained transferable skills that would serve her long after her playing days, including teamwork, discipline, and collaboration. At Amazon, she took the company’s leadership principles: Learn and Be Curious, Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility, and Think Big, and she combined those ideas with her basketball experience to elevate and empower her team.
For Estavan, to be a good leader, she said, you have to meet your team where they are. Estavan spent around two years as an area manager on the floor, where she worked side by side with associates, providing feedback and encouragement. She made it a part of her team plan to build culture and unity around understanding the lives of Amazon associates.
“We don’t evolve without our associates. They’re the ones out there grinding and putting the work in,” said Estavan.
Just like in basketball, she realized that success depends on teamwork to achieve the win, or in this case, goals like higher efficiency. Instead of holding a ball on the court, Estavan now scores at Amazon by using her voice to motivate her team, providing the assist they need to do their best work and bring their best selves to it. She carried her basketball team’s mentality into the facility, shaping a culture of pride, unity, and collective success.
“Drawing from my basketball experience, I knew that just as a team can’t succeed with players working in isolation, our facility couldn’t reach its full potential with departments operating separately. On the court, every player has their specialty, whether it’s scoring, defense, or playmaking, but championship teams win when these talents work in harmony,” she said.
She recently implemented a Reverse & Learn mentorship program where junior Black leaders mentor senior ones. Estavan wanted to provide mentorship that she didn’t have at the beginning of her career. Her message to young professionals is not to shrink to fit in and to lead with your full, authentic self.
“As a Black woman who has navigated multiple leadership roles, I understood firsthand the unique challenges and perspectives our junior Black leaders bring to the table. Their experiences with new technologies, contemporary leadership approaches, and understanding of evolving workplace dynamics are invaluable,” she said. “That’s why I created Reverse & Learn, where junior Black leaders mentor senior leaders, creating a two-way street of learning and growth.”
Growth is Possible
Growth looks different for everyone. For Estavan, it meant playing professional basketball overseas, not really liking it, and deciding to pivot. That pivot turned into her being a leader at Amazon. October 28, 2013, marked Estavan’s first day on the job at Amazon, and she hasn’t looked back since.
“At Amazon, we’re not content with the status quo. We’re always looking for ways to be better, to innovate, and to grow,” she said. “This aligns perfectly with my personal philosophy of continuous improvement and lifting others as we climb.”
Amazon gives Estavan the space to flourish in her competitive energy while being a leader who teaches along the way.
“It’s the people, honestly. The people that I work with or the people who work for me, when I see them grow and develop, it’s like these warm and fuzzy feelings,” said Estavan.
As someone who grew up in the hood, Estavan wants people to see where she came from, where she’s going, and how she did it the right way.
“I want people to see that they can do things they never thought of. I have done it,” said Estavan.
This article is part of our monthly Amazon series highlighting the human beings behind the company. This news coverage is sponsored by Amazon.
