The world's second most richest person and the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos to resign from the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Amazon.com Inc. – the company he founded 27 years ago, as the company reported its third consecutive record profit and quarterly sales above $100 billion for the first time.
Andy Jassy, head of Amazon Web Services, will take the position as CEO beginning in the third quarter, while Bezos will become executive chairman, Amazon said.
In a memo to employees posted on Amazon's blog, Bezos, 57, said he is giving up the CEO role to focus on other ventures, including the Bezos Climate Fund, the Washington Post and Blue Origin, Bezos' space flight company, CBS news reported.
"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" Bezos added.
He further added, "I've never had more energy, and this isn't about retiring."
The management shuffle comes as Amazon announced blockbuster earnings for 2020. A surge in online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic drove up the company's sales 37%, to $386 billion, the company reported. Amazon added half a million new employees last year, highlighting the company's explosive growth, and its profit nearly doubled to more than $21 billion. Amazon's stock has soared 60% from a year ago. That jump has boosted Bezos' personal fortune, making him the second-wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $188 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Jassy helms an increasingly important part of Amazon's business. The cloud-computing service made up just 12% of Amazon's sales last year, but accounted for more than half of the company's profit. AWS' thousands of clients include Capital One, Coca-Cola, Intuit and Netflix. Amazon's stock has soared 60% from a year ago. That jump has boosted Bezos' personal fortune, making him the second-wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $188 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
