Andy Jassy will officially become the CEO of Amazon on July 5th, the company announced at a recent shareholder meeting.
Amazon announced that Jassy, who is the current CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), would replace Bezos as CEO of the entire company in February. Bezos will become executive chair of Amazon’s board.
“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,” Bezos said in a statement in February. “I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.”
Jassy is one of the most important executives in Amazon’s history, having led the hugely successful AWS — the cloud computing technology that underpins Netflix, Spotify, Fortnite, and other major services — to astronomical heights.
He joined the company in the late ’90s and was tasked with exploring what would become AWS around 2003. Since then, it has become a massive revenue-driver for the company, earning $13.5 billion last quarter alone.
Jassy is taking the helm of Amazon at a time of significant change and continued growth. Before this announcement, Amazon announced that it would be buying film and TV company MGM for $8.45 billion, giving it a huge set of entertainment assets that could help bolster its Amazon Prime Video offering.
