Jeff Bezos stood down from his role as CEO of Amazon on Monday, twenty-seven years after creating the firm, as he prepared to embark on a new professional path.
Bezos, who is 57 years old, will now focus on his own space exploration company, philanthropy, and other endeavours. He will, however, continue to play a crucial role as executive chair of the technological and e-commerce behemoth.
The change comes following Amazon’s recent success, which has brought attention to its inventions.
However, the company has been chastised for business methods that have harmed competitors and prompted questions about how a one-million-strong staff is treated.
“In bookselling, the retail market, cloud computing, and home delivery, Bezos has been a revolutionary leader,” said Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation.
“He was a forerunner who pioneered many of the modern conveniences that we now take for granted, such as purchasing something from an internet store and having it delivered to your home the following day. Many of the developments in the e-commerce industry may be attributed to this guy.”
In public appearances, Bezos often recounts the early days at Amazon, started in his garage, when he packed up orders himself and drove boxes to the post office.
Today, Amazon has a market value of more than $1.7 trillion. It posted 2020 annual revenues of $386 billion from operations in the e-commerce, cloud computing, groceries, artificial intelligence, streaming media and more.
