Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will officially step down from his role as chief executive on July 5, he announced during the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday.
Bezos, who had announced his decision to step down in February, will hand over the company’s reins to Andy Jassy, who is currently the CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The Amazon founder has been running the e-commerce giant for nearly three decades, making him one of the richest people in the world. Bezos will become Amazon’s executive chair.
The timing is “sentimental,” Bezos said as July 5 is the date when Amazon was incorporated in 1994.
“I am very excited to move into the (executive) chair role, where I will focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives,” Bezos said on Wednesday, adding that he expects Jassy to be ‘an outstanding leader’.
Bezos had stepped back from much of the day-to-day business over several years, though the pandemic pulled him back last spring.
Meanwhile, Jassy will be replaced by Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky once he takes over the reins of Amazon, the company had said in March.
Surjitt Sahani
