After 27 years at the helm, Jeff Bezos has stepped down as the CEO of Amazon. Bezos, also the founder of Amazon made this shocking announcement Tuesday afternoon in a press release about the company’s earnings.
Bezos (who was formerly the richest man on Earth, now overtaken by Elon Musk) will make the transition to the role of executive chair. This change will take place in the 3rd fiscal quarter of the year, which starts July 1st. Chief Executive of Web Services, Andy Jassy will now take the role of Amazon’s CEO.
The newly appointed CEO has been at Amazon since 1997 and created Amazon Web Services, which now accounts for 60 percent of the company’s operating profit.
In a blog post to Amazon employees, Bezos states that his reasoning to step down is to “focus on my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives.” Bezos continues by stating he will now have the time and energy to focus on other projects.
“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,” says Bezos in the blog post.
Amazon started off as an online bookstore and has now become one of the biggest companies in the world, while also becoming one of the largest employers in the United States.
With all eyes on the stock market recently, some would fear a decline in Amazon stock, however, after the announcement, Amazon’s stock rose 1.5 percent. Bezo’s has remained one of the biggest shareholders in Amazon.
Only time will tell if Jeff Bezos’s decision will be beneficial to his other projects and Amazon itself.
