Amazon CEO steps down into new role

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO and founder, announced on Feb. 2 that he would be stepping down from his position.

Bezos is not leaving the company, but rather will take up the role of executive chairman as of the third quarter of this year starting July 1. Andy Jassy, the chief executive of Amazon Web Services, will take over as CEO of Amazon.

The announcement came as a surprise as part of Amazon’s fourth-quarter earnings report. This fourth-quarter was reported with record sales of 125.5 billion dollars, making it the first time the company had 100 billion dollars in revenue in a single quarter. With 7.2 billion dollars in profits, that is more than double compared to previous years. To see the report, go to this link.

According to a memo written to employees about the transition, Bezos wrote, “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. As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions.” To see the memo, go to this link.

Bezos first founded Amazon in 1994 as Cadabra specifically as an online bookstore. Almost 30 years later, Amazon has made Bezos one of the richest people in the world and has allowed him to found the various funds and other businesses he owns.

“This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name,” Bezos wrote, “Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world.”