Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to step down as CEO
Amazon says Jeff Bezos will step down as CEO of the company he founded nearly 30 years ago.
Amazon Web Services chief executive Andy Jassy will replace Jeff Bezos as CEO during the third quarter of this year, the tech giant announced.
Mr Bezos, one of the world's richest people, will transition to executive chair of Amazon's board.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the the Amazon re:MARS convention, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) AP/AAP
Mr Bezos has been Amazon's CEO since its founding in 1995.
He oversaw its growth from an online bookseller into a US$1.7 trillion global retail and logistics behemoth.
Mr Bezos said in a letter to employees that he is excited for the transition.
"Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it's consuming," Mr Bezos wrote.
"When you have a responsibility like that, it's 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've never had more energy, and this isn't about retiring. I'm super passionate about the impact I think these organisations can have."
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will step down from his role as chief executive later this year and transition to the role of executive chair, AAP
The news came as part of Amazon's earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2020 — the company handily beat Wall Street analysts' projections for both sales and profit, capping off a banner year for the company as the pandemic boosted both its retail and cloud businesses.
Amazon shares were flat in after-hours trading today.
The company's stock has grown nearly 69 per cent over the past year.
Amazon posted quarterly net sales of US$125.6 billion, up 44 per cent from the same period in the prior year and well ahead of the $119.7 billion Wall Street analysts had projected.
Net income in the quarter hit $7.2 billion — nearly double the $3.7 billion Wall Street predicted and more than double the $3.3 billion in income the company earned in the year-ago quarter.
As for the full year, Amazon reported net sales increased 38 per cent to $386.1 billion, more than $6 billion more than analysts had projected.
Net income for 2020 reached $21.3 billion, or $41.83 per diluted share, an increase of nearly 84 per cent from a year earlier.
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