Jeff Bezos has announced plans to step down from Amazon this year.
The CEO and founder say he will step down and will take on the executive chair role instead.
The news came when the group released its latest financial results. In the last three months of the year, the group reported record sales of over $100 billion for the first time. The results are ahead of forecasts, with the company recorded a net profit increase of $7.2 billion from $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter.
Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, will replace Bezos. The company has provided cloud computing and storage to governments and large businesses, making it one of Amazon’s most important companies. It accounts for 52% of the company’s profits.
“Amazon is what it is for the invention. After a few years of amazing inventions, when you do it right, the new thing is normal. Yawn. That yawn can be received by the inventor. It’s the biggest compliment. When you look at our financial results, what you actually see is the long-term cumulative results of the invention,” Bezos said.
“Now I consider Amazon to be the most original to date and it’s the perfect time to make this transition.”
Tim Hubbard is an assistant professor of business management at the University of Notre Dame, University of Mendoza. He states: Amazon Web Services is an internal powerhouse and drives many profitability.
“This transition may release Bezos to focus on other ideas he has accumulated over the years. In a way, he again personalized without having to manage the rest of the company. I think it might be free to have space to innovate in.
“It would be difficult to disrupt their momentum, especially given their recent success in Amazon during the pandemic,” he added.
