Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has recently decided to step down from his role as CEO of the company. He plans to make this motion official in the third quarter of 2021.
He is set to take the role of executive chair, leaving room for Andy Jassy to take his place in the CEO position. Jassy is currently the leader of Amazon Web Services and has 24 years of experience working for the retail giant.
In a letter to all Amazon employees, Bezos delivered a statement about his transition: “In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives.”
Bezos then talked about his faith in his successor: “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.”
In the letter, Bezos also discussed his reasons for stepping down. He maintained that the job is a “deep responsibility” and “consuming”. As a result, he said, “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.”
