Ali Hasan
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has announced that he’ll step down as Amazon’s CEO later this year, after 27 years at the helm. Bezos will now take over as Amazon’s executive chairman and continue to be its biggest shareholder, the company said on Tuesday. Bezos will hand over the CEO reins to Andy Jassy, the head of Amazon’s cash-cow cloud computing division (AWS) and someone who’s been at Amazon for much of its existence.
Mr Jassy joined Amazon as a marketing manager in 1997 and in 2003 founded AWS, the cloud services division of the company which has been one of the most profitable but least-known units of the tech giant.
Jassy is one of Bezos’ most trusted lieutenants and he was widely seen as his successor, given that he was appointed the CEO’s “shadow” technical (where he got to accompany Bezos to all his meetings) way back in 2003. He is credited as having written the AWS original business plan and having run the division since its launch in 2006. Jassy’s elevation also signals the importance of AWS among Amazon’s array of divisions.
Bezos, according to multiple reports, has been stepping back from day-to-day role managing Amazon’s business in recent years, focusing on the longer-term projects at the company, including his rocket venture Blue Origin.
“As much as I still tap dance into the office, I’m excited about this transition,” Bezos said in a letter to employees Tuesday. “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,” he wrote. “I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Wednesday congratulated Jeff Bezos and his successor Andy Jassy on their new roles after the Amazon founder announced his decision to stand aside later this year as chief executive of the company.
Mr Bezos said he will transition to the role of executive chair in the third quarter, handing over the CEO role to Andy Jassy, who heads Amazon Web Services. The Indian-American top executive also sent his best wishes for two of the passion projects of the outgoing Amazon CEO – the Day 1 Fund and the Bezos Earth Fund.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, noting Mr Jassy’s accomplishments, said, “a well-deserved recognition of what you have accomplished”.
Here is the full text of the Jeff Bezos’ email to Amazon employees:
Fellow Amazonians,
“I am excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO. 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.
This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. The question I was asked most frequently at that time was, “What’s the internet?” Blessedly, I have not had to explain that in a long while. Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world.
How did that happen? Invention. Invention is the root of our success. We have done crazy things together, and then made them normal. We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more. If you get it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. And that yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive.
I do not 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. I hope you are as proud of our inventiveness as I am. I think you should be.
As Amazon became large, we decided to use our scale and scope to lead on important social issues. Two high-impact examples: our $15 minimum wage and the Climate Pledge. In both cases, we staked out leadership positions and then asked others to come along with us. In both cases, it is working. Other large companies are coming our way. I hope you are proud of that as well.
I find my work meaningful and fun. I get to work with the smartest, most talented, most ingenious teammates. When times have been good, you have been humble. When times have been tough, you have been strong and supportive, and we have made each other laugh. It is a joy to work on this team.
As much as I still tap dance into the office, I am excited about this transition. Millions of customers depend on us for our services, and more than a million employees depend on us for their livelihoods. Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it is consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it is hard to put attention on anything else.
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. I have never had more energy, and this is not about retiring. I am super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.
Amazon could not be better positioned for the future. We are firing on all cylinders, just as the world needs us to. We have things in the pipeline that will continue to astonish. We serve individuals and enterprises, and we have pioneered two complete industries and a whole new class of devices. We are leaders in areas as varied as machine learning and logistics, and if an Amazonian’s idea requires yet another new institutional skill, we are flexible enough and patient enough to learn it.
Keep inventing, and do not despair when at first the idea looks crazy. Remember to wander. Let curiosity be your compass. It remains Day 1.
— Jeff.
It will be interesting to see how the new CEO aka Andy Jassy takes amazon from here.
