World's richest man Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, will step down as the Chief Executive of the eCommerce major, the company announced on Tuesday (local time).

Bezos, who founded Amazon 27 years ago, will transition to the role of executive chairman in the third quarter of 2021, as per a report in The New York Times. Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud computing business, would take over as CEO of Amazon.

The surprise news came as Amazon released its financial results for its fourth quarter that ended December 31, 2020. The company recorded $100 billion in sales for last three months of 2020. It is one of the few companies that thrived during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Amazon is what it is because of invention," Bezos, 57, said in a statement released by the company.

"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. Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition," Bezos said in a statement.

Amazon, a company that started as an online bookseller, is now a major player in cloud computing, groceries, electronics and entertainment. It employs over 11 lakh people.

Bezos, who founded Amazon in 1994 had stepped back from much of the day-to-day business over several years, though the pandemic pulled him back in last spring.