Jeff Bezos will step down as CEO of Amazon and will become the executive chair of the company’s board by the third quarter, kickstarting a new era for the e-commerce giant.
Bezos, 57, will hand over to Andy Jassy, the top cloud executive of Amazon Web Services (AWS), according to an announcement issued on Tuesday.
“I’m excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO. In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives,” Bezos said in a statement published in the company’s blog.
He added that under his new post, he will have more time to focus on other Amazon initiatives and side-projects including the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, and the newspaper he owns, namely The Washington Post.
“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 added.
The surprise announcement came at a rather ambiguous moment, as Amazon released its latest financial results, which showed that the company recorded sales of more than $100 billion for the first time. However, it also came amid mounting pressure from workers who have complained of mistreatment during the Coronavirus pandemic.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by WCT staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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