Mackey loves Amazon about 98% of the time

By now, more than two years after the sale of his company to Amazon for $13.7 billion in cash, a lot of grocery industry insiders thought John Mackey would be gone from his position as CEO of Whole Foods Market. But Mackey, who founded Whole Foods Market about 39 years ago, is still leading the Austin, Texas-based retailer that’s well known for its 365 Everyday Value private brand.

Whole Foods Market was struggling at the time of the sale, which vaulted Seattle-based Amazon into the brick-and-mortar grocery arena. Mackey has voiced some disagreements with Amazon, but he compares his relationship with Whole Foods Market’s owner to his marriage in an interview with CNBC.

“Do I absolutely love everything about my wife? The answer is that I love about 98%,” he told CNBC. “There are little things that I wish were different, but you can’t really change people.

“Amazon is like a marriage. Do we love absolutely everything about Amazon? No. We probably love 98%.”

Mackey also describes his boss, Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos, as “brilliant.”

Click here to read the CNBC article.