Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon on the occasion of the company’s 27th anniversary.
The billionaire is replaced by Andy Jassy, the mastermind behind Amazon’s cloud computing division.
Earlier this year, Bezos announced that he would take over as executive chairman so that he could focus on initiatives such as his private space travel plans.
The leadership change came on Monday, exactly 27 years after Mr. Bezos founded the company as an internet bookseller.
The 57-year-old has since overseen his growth into a global e-commerce giant that is one of the most valuable companies in the world.
Amazon’s annual profit nearly doubled in 2020 to $ 21.3 billion (£ 15.37 billion) – in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic which has driven online shopping.
The new Managing Director, Mr. Jassy, has created an extremely profitable and market-leading company, Amazon Web Services, which operates data centers that meet a wide range of business IT needs.
Amazon is also expanding further into Hollywood and healthcare.
Announcing that he would be stepping down as managing director of the company he founded in a garage, Mr Bezos said he wanted to “focus on [his] energies and attention to new products and first initiatives ”in his new role as Executive Chairman.
“This journey started 27 years ago. Amazon was just an idea, and it didn’t have a name. The question I was asked the most at the time was “What is the Internet?” “Fortunately, I haven’t had to explain this for a long time,” he wrote in a letter to Amazon employees earlier this year.
“Today, we employ 1.3 million talented and dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world.”
Mr Bezos said he “will remain committed to important Amazon initiatives” but will also focus on projects outside of the day-to-day running of the business in his new role.
He said the move would give him “the time and energy” to “focus on Day 1, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post»And his« other passions ».
Mr Bezos said he had “full confidence” in his replacement, Mr Jassy.
“Andy is well known within the company and has been with Amazon for almost as long as I have. He will be an exceptional leader and he has my full confidence,” he said.
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Source: www.independent.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-05 12:47:29
