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Amazon has announced that founder Jeff Bezos will step down from his role as CEO in Q3, and instead transition to the role of executive chair.
Bezos will be succeeded by Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy who has been with the company since 1997.
The news follows Amazon’s latest results for the three months ended 31 December 31, which revealed net sales increased 44% to $125.6bn (£90bn) in the fourth quarter, compared with $87.4bn (£64bn) for the same period the previous year.
Net income grew to $7.2bn(£5.2bn) in Q4, or $14.09(£10.3) per diluted share, compared with net income of $3.3bn (£2.4bn), or $6.47(£4.74) per diluted share, in 2019.
Additionally, the group revealed it will continue to ramp up its in-house Covid-19 testing program as part of its investments to keep its front-line employees safe. More than 700 employees are reportedly now tested every hour, with Amazon Covid-19 labs processing more than one million tests globally.
Commenting on the Q4 results and stepping down as CEO, Bezos said: “Amazon is what it is because of invention. We do crazy things together and then make them normal.
“We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalised recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more.”
He added: “If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. That yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive. When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention.
“Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”
