Jeff Bezos To Step Down As Amazon Chief Executive Officer After 27 Years

World’s richest man and Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO of the company after 27 years of being at the helm of affairs.

He will become executive chairman and will be replaced by Andy Jassy who currently leads Amazon’s cloud computing business.

Jassy has been identified previously as the likely successor to Bezos, after leading Amazon Web Services (AWS) to the success it currently enjoys as a leader in the cloud computing space.

AWS grew its revenues by 28% in the quarter, lower than its year-ago growth rate of 34%. AWS’s net revenues expanded from $9.95 in the year-ago Q4 to $12.74 billion during the fourth quarter of 2020. Operating income at AWS scaled as well, from $2.6 billion in Q4 2019 to $3.56 billion in the most recent quarter.

According to Mr. Bezos, the transition will give him more “time and energy” to focus on his other ventures.

"Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it's consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it's hard to put attention on anything else," Mr. Bezos said in a letter to Amazon staff on Tuesday.

"As Executive 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've never had more energy, and this isn't about retiring. I'm super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have," he added.

The change will take place in the second half of 2021, the company said.