On July 5, 1994, Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), exactly 27 years after founding the e-commerce and cloud services behemoth.
What happened was this: Bezos has been promoted to executive chair, while Andy Jassy has been promoted to president and CEO, according to Amazon’s investor relations website. The shift in management was announced by Amazon in February.
From April 2016 to July 2021, Jassy was the CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), which he started in 2003.
See also: Amazon Remains the Cloud’s Dominant Player, But Rivals Are Gaining Ground
Why Does It Matter? The selection of Jassy as CEO symbolizes Amazon’s transition to cloud computing. AWS revenue increased by 24% year over year to $13.50 billion in the first quarter, accounting for more than 12% of Amazon’s total sales.
Amazon has grown to a $1.8 trillion enterprise under Bezos’ leadership. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos has acquired a fortune of more over $200 billion, making him the world’s wealthiest person.
On July 20, Bezos will fly to space aboard the groundbreaking Blue Origin passenger trip.
Amazon’s stock rose about 2.3 percent to $3,510.98 on Friday.
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