Taking his place will be Andy Jassy, who joined Amazon back in 1997, just a few short years after the company was founded. Jassy has since led Amazon’s Web Services (which powers a fair chunk of the internet) since its inception and continues to remain one of Amazon’s most profitable ventures.
In a letter written to employees, Bezos said, “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.”
Based on this, it sounds like Bezos will continue to remain at Amazon albeit in a different capacity. The CEO also added in an internal announcement, “As much as I still tap dance into the office, I’m excited about this transition. Millions of customers depend on us for our services, and more than a million employees depend on us for their livelihoods. Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else.”