Current:Home > MarketsJeff Bezos Built Amazon 27 Years Ago. He Now Steps Down As CEO At Critical Time-LoTradeCoin
Jeff Bezos Built Amazon 27 Years Ago. He Now Steps Down As CEO At Critical Time
View Date:2024-12-23 23:47:59
Jeff Bezos stepped down as Amazon's CEO on Monday, exactly 27 years since he started the e-commerce giant in a garage in West Bellevue, Wash.
Bezos is handing day-to-day duties to his longtime deputy Andy Jassy but will continue to hold considerable sway as the company's executive chairman.
Under Bezos, Amazon transformed itself from an online bookseller startup into the world's largest online retailer. Bezos led the company safely through the dot-com bubble bursting in the early 2000s then launched a period of ruthless expansion, pushing its influence far beyond Internet commerce.
Amazon now commands sizable businesses in grocery stores, cloud computing, smart devices, filmmaking and even fashion brands.
Bezos, the richest man on the planet, told employees earlier this year that handing the reins to Jassy would allow him to focus on other projects, like philanthropic pursuits addressing climate change and his space exploration company Blue Origin (Bezos himself is planning to fly to the edge of space on a rocket built by the company in two weeks).
Bezos will remain Amazon's largest shareholder.
"Jeff is really not going anywhere," Brian Olsavsky, Amazon's Chief Financial Officer, told reporters in February. "It's more of a restructuring of who's doing what."
Jassy, who joined Amazon in 1997, had been the chief executive of Amazon Web Services, a cloud computing juggernaut that is Amazon's most profitable division and helps power large swaths of the Internet, including Netflix, Facebook and Twitter.
The transition arrives at a pivotal time for Amazon. The pandemic's shift to remote work was a major boon for the company, soaring profits as Americans confined at home shopped more online and demanded additional cloud computing resources.
Those new fortunes, however, come during a moment of growing pressure.
Amazon's competitive practices are the subject of probes from Congress, the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and regulators in Europe, as government officials accuse the company of abusing its market dominance.
Amazon drivers and other workers have alleged mistreatment and complained about breakneck working conditions in Amazon factories.
Brad Stone, a senior editor at Bloomberg News who has written two books about Amazon, said Bezos has an unusual gift for problem-solving and focusing on many disparate issues at once, but empathy has never been his strength.
Jassy has long seen Bezos as a mentor, but colleagues have said he is more mild-mannered, soft-spoken and less prone to angry outbursts, compared to Bezos.
As Jassy takes over as CEO, one key challenge will be tamping down the rougher side of Amazon's empire infusing the company what Stone calls a more humble image.
"Jassy takes over at a critical time," Stone told NPR. "He's inheriting not just the tremendous success but all the baggage that comes with it."
Stone added that having Jassy at the helm may be aimed at changing perceptions of Amazon, a company that has become an inescapable part of daily life but one the author says elicits mixed feelings.
"I think Jassy has to kind of make Amazon a more empathetic company, a friendlier company," Stone said. "He has to find Amazon's heart."
veryGood! (517)
Related
- College Football Playoff ranking release: Army, Georgia lead winners and losers
- Gwen Stefani receives massive emerald ring for Valentine's Day from Blake Shelton
- Elderly couple who trafficked meth in Idaho, Northwest, sentenced to years in prison
- The Voice Alum Cassadee Pope Reveals She's Leaving Country Music
- 3 Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib win $42M judgement against defense contractor
- After searing inflation, American workers are getting ahead, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says
- Utah school board seeks resignation of member who questioned athlete’s gender
- North Carolina lawmakers say video gambling machine legislation could resurface this year
- Richard Allen found guilty in the murders of two teens in Delphi, Indiana. What now?
- The Truth About Vanderpump Rules' It's Not About the Pasta Conspiracy Revealed
Ranking
- Steelers shoot for the moon ball, but will offense hold up or wilt in brutal final stretch?
- Angela Chao, shipping business CEO and Mitch McConnell’s sister-in-law, dies in Texas
- Nebraska lawmaker seeks to ban corporations from buying up single-family homes
- Verdict in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial expected Friday, capping busy week of court action
- Who is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman Donald Trump picked to serve as attorney general?
- What to know about Thursday's Daytona Duels, the qualifying races for the 2024 Daytona 500
- Power Rangers’ Jason Faunt Reveals Surprising Meaning Behind Baby Girl’s Name
- Who plays 'Young Sheldon'? See full cast for Season 7 of hit sitcom
Recommendation
-
Stop smartphone distractions by creating a focus mode: Video tutorial
-
Trump's first criminal trial set to begin March 25 as judge denies bid to dismiss hush money case
-
16-year-old boy arrested in NYC subway shooting that killed 1 and wounded 5
-
'Odysseus' lander sets course for 1st commercial moon landing following SpaceX launch
-
Michael Grimm, former House member convicted of tax fraud, is paralyzed in fall from horse
-
FBI informant charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden’s ties to Ukrainian energy company
-
Gun rights are expansive in Missouri, where shooting at Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade took place
-
Cleveland-Cliffs to shutter West Virginia tin plant and lay off 900 after tariff ruling