Andy Jassy To Succeed Jeff Bezos As Amazon CEO

Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, has released an official statement asserting that he will be stepping down from his CEO position, to become the Executive Chairman. Andy Jassy, the current Cloud Computing Chief, is poised to be the new CEO in the third quarter. 

Jassy is a longtime Amazon executive who has worked at the company since 1997, after graduating from Harvard Business School. He worked there as a technical assistant for Bezos in the early 2000s and was instrumental in leading the company’s push outside of book sales.

In an email to his employees posted on their website, Bezos mentions, “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.”

He further adds, “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.”

What began 27 years back, today stands as one of the most successful companies in the world. The company has employed 1.3 million talented people, serving hundreds of millions of customers and businesses. Amazon very recently reported its third consecutive record profit and quarterly sales above $100 billion for the first time. 

Bezos credits invention as the root to company’s success. He expresses, “I don’t know of another company with an invention track record as good as Amazon’s, and I believe we are at our most inventive right now. We’ve done crazy things together, and then made them normal.”

The social media was caught in a frenzy after this sudden announcement. Global industry leaders, such as Sundar Pichai & Satya Nadela, took to social media to respond to the development:

Bezos ended his email saying, "Keep inventing, and don’t despair when at first the idea looks crazy. Remember to wander. Let curiosity be your compass. It remains Day 1."