Jeff Bezos, in a memo to employees, announced that he is stepping down as Amazon CEO, and from the third quarter-Q3, Andy Jassy will become CEO. Following the transition, Jeff Bezos will then hold the Executive Chair of the Amazon Board. The third quarter of the year will begin from 1st of July.
Stating the reasons, Jeff Bezos remarked that the decision will help him to stay more focused on his other projects that aim to nurture human welfare on the planet. These projects include Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, and The Washington Post, to name a few. Meanwhile, this role transition does not mean the retirement move of Jeff Bezos; he will still remain relevant to important Amazon initiatives and keep working on other ideas simultaneously.
“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. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.”
The replacement, as revealed by Jeff Bezos in his memo, is the current Chief Executive of Amazon Web Services — Andy Jassy. Jeff Bezos has shown full confidence in his choice and admired his contribution, which led to building the network of worldwide cloud-based web services from the platform of Amazon.
“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 stepped down from Amazon during a time when the market value of the company was estimated at $1.7 trillion, making it among the world’s most valuable companies.
Amazon has long been involved in projects intended to create impact. The company decided to take the lead on important social issues using its scale and scope. Jeff Bezos specifically mentioned two high-impact examples in his memo, namely the $15 minimum wage and the Climate Pledge. Looking back to the past, Jeff Bezos called “invention” the root of their success. Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore and built the company into one the largest enterprise in the U.S., with a massive network of offices and warehouses throughout the country. Bezos has regained the title of the richest person in the world after Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently overtook him.
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