Jeff Bezos to Step Down from Amazon CEO Position

Amazon has announced that CEO and founder Jeff Bezos will resign from his position during the third quarter of 2021, and will transition to executive chair of Amazon’s board. Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Andy Jassy will replace Bezos, according to CNBC.

“I’m excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO,” Bezos wrote in a statement sent to employees. “In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. 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.”

Bezos continued his statement saying that he will use his new role as executive chair of Amazon's board to focus on initiatives like Amazon's Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, the Washington Post, and others.

Bezos originally founded Amazon in 1994, growing what began as an online bookstore into a massive online retailer that competes in numerous sectors, including food delivery, technology, and movie and television streaming. Amazon passed a $1 trillion market cap in 2020 under Bezos' leadership.

Bezos is worth approximately $182 billion as of last December, according to NPR, making him the wealthiest person on the planet.