Jeff Bezos, 57, writes letter to his 1.3m Amazon employees insisting he isn't retiring and wants to focus on 'passions' including space and climate change as he steps down as CEO and hands reins to Andy Jassy
Jeff Bezos is stepping down as the CEO of Amazon, 27 years after founding it with his ex-wife and building it into one of the most successful companies of all time now worth $1.7 trillion.
Bezos, 57, announced the move in a letter to his 1.3 million Amazon employees Tuesday where he insisted he isn't retiring but wants to focus on his 'passions' including his space and climate change ventures.
He will be replaced by 53-year-old Andy Jassy, the current CEO of the Amazon empire cloud business Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the man behind the move to cancel Parler back in January.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (pictured with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez) announced on Tuesday he was stepping down as CEO of the company later this year
Bezos (in an undated photo) said he wasn't retiring but will 'focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions'
Bezos will be replaced by Amazon Web Services CEO, Andy Jassy
Jassy has been with the company for 24 years and built AWS into the $40billion, internet-dominating machine it now is.
AWS dominates a third of the internet's cloud business - by far the largest. It is how governments, companies and individuals keep data and operate online.
Bezos will move to the role of Executive Chair where he says he wants to focus on 'new products and initiatives'.
It is not clear who will take over Jassy's role at AWS and what the future holds for the cloud computing giant.
The move will not happen until the third quarter of this year.
Bezos didn't explain the timing for the announcement on Tuesday but it comes as he faces increased scrutiny from Washington over Amazon's business practices.
The retail giant has been plagued by antitrust investigations, calls for stricter sanctions and cutting questions over its treatment of its workforce amid the pandemic.
Bezos himself was hauled before Congress in July to answer to accusations that Amazon, along with other big tech firms, was using their position to crush competition.
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