Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon has announced to step down as the company’s Chief Executive this summer.
Bezos made this announcement in a letter addressed to his employees. He stated that he is thrilled about this transition, as moves forward to pursue his interests in philanthropy and other ventures.
Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services will succeed him.
Bezos, who founded Amazon in 1994 – as an online bookseller website in his garage – has worked hard to transform it into an e-commerce giant. With a net worth of $1.7 trillion, 1.3 million employees, Amazon has become a household name.
Bezos had already taken a back seat, as far as overseeing the routine operations at Amazon are concerned.
He has also founded the Bezos Earth Fund and Blue Origin. He also holds stakes in the Washington Post, Day 1 Fund, and many others.
Andy Jassy has been associated with Bezos since the early days of Amazon. He was seen as the right-hand-man of Bezos, and there could be no better choice than him to succeed Bezos.
Taking over the role of CEO means a huge achievement for Jassy. He has many pressing challenges to address as soon as he becomes the CEO of the company. Amazon has been under a lot of scrutiny from lawmakers in the USA and Europe, for allegedly establishing a monopoly in the market.
Last summer, Congress grilled Amazon against the same allegations.
Jeff Bezos’ announcement coincides with the news of Amazon paying over $6.17 million to settle federal trade commission charges on account of withholding the tips of its delivery boys for more than two years.
