Jeff Bezos Will Step Down as Amazon CEO Later This Year

The billionaire Amazon founder is expected to leave his post in 2021's third quarter, with Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy expected to replace him.

February 2, 2021

Jeff Bezos is reportedly stepping down as Amazon's CEO.

According to Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman, the billionaire tech entrepreneur will step down from the position in the third quarter of 2021. He will assume the role of Amazon's executive chairman, a move that will allow him to step back from the company's day-to-day operations. It's reported that Bezos will be replaced by Andy Jassy, the current CEO of Amazon Web Services.

Bezos, who founded Amazon nearly three decades ago, announced the transition in a company email obtained by CNBC on Tuesday. It read in part:

Bezos launched Amazon in 1994 as an online marketplace for books. He would continue to expand the company's offerings over the years, turning it into a trillion-dollar retail giant. It also spawned the Amazon Prime streaming platform; delivered technology devices like the Kindle, Fire Tablets, and Alexa; and has bulked up its acquisition portfolio by purchasing companies like Whole Foods, IMDB, Zappos, and Twitch.

Prior to the announcement, Amazon unveiled the design plans for its new corporate headquarters located in Arlington, Virginia. The Wall Street Journal reports the 22-story building will be shaped like a double helix, and will provide about 2.8 million square feet of office space, as well as areas intended for public use, including retail buildings, an outdoor amphitheater, bicycle parking, and a dog run.

"We're doing a lot on the site to connect people to nature," lead architect Dale Alberda told CNN about the new headquarters. "But with the Helix we really take that to the extreme. We're building a series of indoor atriums and gardens that are not a conservatory or a place you just visit, but a place you can actually go and work."