Amazon announced Tuesday that founder Jeff Bezos will step down from his position as chief executive officer (CEO).
Bezos, 57, will move away from the helm of the company and transition to the role of executive chair in the third quarter of 2021 and Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, will be the company’s new chief executive, the company said.
“In the exec chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives,” Bezos said in a letter to Amazon employees obtained by CNBC. “Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader and he has my full confidence.”
Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, expanding the online bookseller into a massive online retail platform over the decades as the company surpassed a
market value of $1 trillion in 2018.
Along with the announcement, Amazon reported earnings of $100 billion in the fourth quarter and AWS reported 28% revenue growth under Jassy.
“When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention,” Bezos said. “Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this
Tuesday’s announcement came as the Federal Trade Commission voted to approve an agreement in which Amazon would pay $61.7 million to settle allegations it failed to pay Flex delivery drivers their full tips.
Also, a Washington judge last month rejected a request by conservative-friendly social media site Parler to be reinstated onto AWS’ servers after the company severed their relationship in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol building.
