FX.co ★ Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO

Recently, Jeff Bezos has announced his decision to step aside as chief executive of Amazon. Being at the helm of Amazon for 27 years, Bezos made it one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Thus, Jeff Bezos will step down as CEO of the retailing giant and transition to the role of executive chair in the third quarter of this year. This means significant changes in Amazon’s management. Therefore, the online retailer decided to make a statement in advance so that not to set off alarm bells on Wall Street. Andy Jassy, chief executive of Amazon Web Services, will replace Bezos as CEO of Amazon.

"I’m 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," Bezos said in his memo to employees. At the same time, he will still focus on other important projects such as the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and the Day 1 Fund.

So far, the news has not affected either Amazon shares or Bezos’ own $193.3 billion net worth.