When you talk to Scott Maurer (MBA, Fellowship and WAVE ’17), current Associate Director Product Manager at Chewy, you quickly notice a theme: every step of his career has been deeply intentional. With a background in mechanical engineering, consumer goods, global retail, digital tech, and now payments, Scott has built a career by continuously redefining what he wants and having the courage to pursue it.
Scott’s professional journey began at Procter & Gamble, a company known for its precision, operational excellence, and ability to grow internal talent. The experience shaped him but also revealed a gap. He says, “when I was an operations manager for P&G, I became a very effective cog within their product supply machine. While it was a great education in its own sense, it didn’t provide me the broader perspective of ‘how do you build something new?’” This realization was the spark that pushed Scott to pursue his MBA degree at the Wisconsin School of Business.
While Scott’s journey originally began with a foundation in engineering, he always saw it as one part of the equation. “Combining engineering with business was always the plan. It lets me make decisions that are both detail-oriented and business-driven,” he explains. This combination of both technical and business expertise has enabled him to approach challenges with a unique perspective.
During his time in the MBA program, Scott was involved in the Fellowship and Enterprise Development Program and the Weinert (now known as Wisconsin) Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship (WAVE) program. For him, WAVE helped provide the tools and the place the customer first. He notes, “Had I done nothing else while pursuing my MBA degree, the WAVE program alone would have completely met my needs.” He also credits instructors like Dan Olszewski for instilling customer obsession before he joined Amazon. That mindset would later become a competitive advantage as he transitioned into product management.
After completing his MBA degree, Scott joined Amazon where he worked within their healthcare, retail, and Prime Video businesses. It was there that he discovered his passion for leading multi-functional teams to deliver completely new products for Amazon. He enabled a new payment method (FSA cards), built an AI-powered shipping optimization strategy, and launched Thursday Night Football on Prime Video. During his time at Amazon, Scott helped customers, saved hundreds of millions of dollars, and won an Emmy.
After eight years with the company, Scott was ready for something new. He notes: “I had to redefine myself and felt to do so I had to leave Amazon. I fit perfectly there but also felt stagnant. Deciding to leave forced me to ask: who do I want to be next?” This moment of reflection became one of the most important turning points of his career.
Today, Scott owns the product side of Chewy’s payment systems, enabling their recent expansion from retail into vet care, telemedicine, and new digital health verticals. This opportunity allows him to take everything that he has learned and apply it to a rapidly evolving business at even faster pace.
“Chewy lets me embrace my inner golden retriever. My two doodles are my daily test customers,” he jokes. Beyond the humor, Scott’s approach to his career reflects something deeper — a commitment to continuous learning, deep curiosity, and staying close to the customer experience. Whether his customers have paws or not, the focus is critical to him and drives his work.
Scott’s journey demonstrates that successful entrepreneurship isn’t about starting a company. It’s about cultivating curiosity, leveraging experiences, and continuously redefining yourself. By combining all his knowledge and experiences, he has found opportunities for growth, all while staying grounded in what matters most: understanding the customer.
To students beginning their own journey, he offers one key piece of advice: “Invest in your network. Keep the conversations going. The more you talk about what you are building, the clearer it becomes.” It is a reminder that clarity often comes not from working alone, but sharing your ideas, reflecting on them, and allowing others to help refine your path.
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