During Amazon’s annual shareholder’s meeting, founder Jeff Bezos announced that he will officially step down from his role as chief executive officer on July 5.
Amazon’s new CEO will be Andy Jassy. He has been leading the Amazon Web Services or AWS that made him one of the richest people in the world.
Meanwhile, Bezos will become the company’s executive chair.
Amazon first announced the leadership change as part of its February earnings report, revealing Jassy would take over during the fiscal third quarter. The company did not reveal the precise date of the transition back then.
In the meeting, Bezos said that the timing is “sentimental,” as July 5 is the date that Amazon was incorporated in 1994.
“I’m very excited to move into the [executive] chair role, where I’ll focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives,” Bezos said.
In February this year, Bezos said he was anticipating having more time to work on his ventures outside Amazon, such as Blue Origin and the Bezos Earth Fund.
Moreover, Bezos stated that he expects that Jassy — who has been at the company for nearly three decades and risen through its ranks to run its most profitable department — will be “an outstanding leader.”
“He has the highest of high standards and I guarantee Andy will never let the universe make us typical,” Bezos said. “He has the energy needed to keep alive in us what has made us special.”
When Jassy leaves AWS to run Amazon, he then will be replaced by Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky.
Aside from the business is increasingly complex and scrutinized, it is worth noting that Amazon is also buying MGM for $8.45 billion, so it is expected that Jassy will do a lot of work when he started taking over.
Bezos also mentioned some of Amazon’s newer ventures that Jassy will have to run, including Project Kuiper and Amazon Care.