Jeff Bezos is going to formally step down as the CEO of Amazon in July.
During a company annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, Bezos announced that he would be leaving his role as chief executive on July 5. The role will be passed to Andy Jassy, who currently manages Amazon Web Services and has done so for three decades, CNN reports. However, Bezos will become Amazon’s executive chair following his leave as CEO.
News about his departure first dropped back in February. In a memo, Bezos told his employees that he will be stepping down because it will give him “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.”
Bezos said that the July 5 date is “sentimental” for him, as July 5 is the day Amazon was incorporated in 1994. “I’m very excited to move into the [executive] chair role, where I’ll focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives,” Bezos said Wednesday.
Jassy has worked for the company for 24 years; Bezos says he believes Jassy will be an “outstanding leader.”
“He has the highest of high standards and I guarantee Andy will never let the universe make us typical,” Bezos said. “He has the energy needed to keep alive in us what has made us special.”
