Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that he will be stepping down later this year. Bezos will transition to executive chairman of Amazon’s board, while the company’s top cloud executive Andy Jassy will be Bezos’ successor.
“I’m excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO,” Bezos said in a letter to employees. “In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. 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.”
Andy Jassy has been with Amazon since 1997 and has led the company’s Web Services cloud team since its inception. Amazon’s Web Services (AWS) is currently one of the company’s top profit drivers and recently reported a 28% revenue growth for the fourth quarter. In October 2020, AWS accounted for 52% of Amazon’s operating income. While one of Jassy’s key objectives will be guiding Amazon through antitrust concerns in America and Europe, Bezos will focus more on the Bezos Earth Fund, his Blue Origin spaceship company, The Washington Post, and the Amazon Day 1 Fund. Amazon is currently worth more than $1.6 trillion after Bezos founded the company in 1994. Under Bezos’ leadership, the company has grown from an online bookstore into a mega-retailer. The recent news comes after Amazon reported its first $100 billion quarter.
“As much as I still tap dance into the office, I’m excited about this transition,” Bezos added. “Millions of customers depend on us for our services, and more than a million employees depend on us for their livelihoods. Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else.”