Breaking! Jeff Bezos: Why I’m Stepping Down As Amazon CEO

Related stories

It’s Another Big Brother Season Of Distractions

By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu The country is going through hell...

You must marry me and my children, By Funke Egbemode

‘I will not be with a man who will...

[VIDEO] Drama as Burglar is Caught in Overnight Heist at FCMB Branch in Imo

By Abiola Olawale In a shocking incident at a First...

2027: Why Peter Obi Proposed a Single-Tenure to Atiku, David Mark, Others -Obidient Movt Reveals

By Abiola Olawale The 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour...

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will step down as head of the company he founded 30 years ago.

In a memo to employees, Bezos said the transition will give him “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.”

The world’s richest man will be replaced by Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon Web Services, according to a Tuesday memo.

Bezos’s announcement came as Amazon announced financials for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Net sales increased 44 percent to $125.6 billion as opposed to $87.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.

In a Tuesday statement, Bezos said it was the “optimal time” for the leadership change.

The leadership change will happen in the fall, when he will swap his current title for ‘executive chair’.

Andy Jassy, 52, the chief executive of Amazon Web Services, will take over as CEO.

In a letter to his 1.3 million employees, Bezos said he intends to focus his “energies and attention on new products and early initiatives”.

He added that he is excited about the transition and Amazon “couldn’t be better positioned for the future”.

The new CEO, Jassy joined Amazon in 1997.

The announcement set off alarm bells on Wall Street and throughout the business community, though the transition does not necessarily portend any significant change to Amazon’s business. Amazon reported a year of record growth on Tuesday, including a 38 percent increase in net sales from 2019, netting the company $21 billion in income, nearly double from the year before. Investors didn’t seem fazed by the news, either.

Amazon’s share price was up about 1.5 percent following the announcement.

It remains to be seen how active Bezos will be in Amazon’s business in his new role. Several major tech executives have stepped down as CEO and remained intimately involved in their companies’ business, including Larry Ellison at Oracle and Bill Gates at Microsoft. Bezos remains one of Amazon’s biggest shareholders.

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
It’s Another Big Brother Season Of DistractionsYou must marry me and my children, By Funke Egbemode[VIDEO] Drama as Burglar is Caught in Overnight Heist at FCMB Branch in Imo2027: Why Peter Obi Proposed a Single-Tenure to Atiku, David Mark, Others -Obidient Movt RevealsOkpebholo vs Asue Ighodalo: Anxieties as Supreme Court Reserves Judgment on Edo Governorship Election Case2027 Election Battle Rages as Gen David Mark Quits PDP, Leads Coalition Against TinubuOil Markets Refocus on OPEC as Iran-Israel Conflict CoolsRussia's War Economy Faces Imminent RecessionThailand’s PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended over leaked Hun Sen call2027: Atiku, David Mark, Secondus, Tambuwal, Others Hold Crucial Meeting, Weigh OptionsRanked: 40 Best Countries in the World, According to PeopleOPEC Tensions Build as Kazakhstan's Oil Production Hits All-Time HighDrama as Lagos Monarch Strips Six Chiefs of Titles Over Labour Party Rally AttendanceAnxieties as Ondo Govt Launches Probe into Akeredolu’s Death, Puts Widow Under ScrutinyTrump Blasts Elon Musk Over Renewed Criticism of US Spending Bill
X whatsapp