Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to step down as CEO, calls it ‘optimal time for transition’

NEW YORK: Billionaire Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon as an online bookseller nearly three decades ago, will step down as the CEO of the USD 1.7 trillion global retail giant in the third quarter of 2021 with Andy Jassy being named his successor.

Amazon, which announced Wednesday that 2020 net sales increased 38 per cent to USD 386.1 billion, compared with USD 280.5 billion in 2019, said Bezos, 57, will transition to the role of Executive Chair in the third quarter of this year and Jassy, 53, CEO of the company’s cloud business, Amazon Web Services, will become Chief Executive Officer at that time.