Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos will step down later this year, transitioning to executive chair of the company’s board.
Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy will replace Bezos.
The e-commerce giant made the announcement Tuesday, saying Bezos will move out of the role during the third quarter.
“In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives," Bezos wrote in a letter to employees as obtained by CNBC. "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 founded Amazon in 1994, originally as an online bookstore. The company’s growth exploded over the next two-plus decades, eventually surpassing a $1 trillion market cap last January.
Related
As the company grew, so did Bezos' wealth.
He became one of the world’s richest people, worth an estimated $184 billion.
Jassy, who runs Amazon’s cloud computing business, joined the company in 1997.
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