Yahoo Finance Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to step down
Amazon founder and chief executive officer, Jeff Bezos has announced he will be stepping down as CEO from the company.
Bezos revealed in an email to the company that in Q3 2021, he will be transitioning to executive chair of the Amazon Board.
Andy Jassy, the current CEO of Amazon’s cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services, will step into the role of CEO at that time.
“Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have,” Bezos said.
“He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.”
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Bezos said while his work was “meaningful and fun”, being the CEO was a “consuming” responsibility, and he wanted more space to work on his other ventures.
“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,” he wrote.
In November last year, Bezos revealed he would donate around US$800 million (AU$1 billion) to the Bezos Earth Fund, which he launched in February 2020. At the time, he had already committed an initial US$10 billion.
“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.”
Bezos started Amazon around 27 years ago as an online bookstore, and has since grown to employ 1.3 million people worldwide.
“Keep inventing, and don’t despair when at first the idea looks crazy,” he said.
“Remember to wander. Let curiosity be your compass. It remains Day 1.”
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