Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will be stepping down to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board with Andy Jassy replacing him as CEO in Q3. In a letter addressed to his employees, Bezos reminisces over some of his most memorable moments as CEO and continues to look forward to the company’s future whilst making it clear that he isn’t retiring.
“As much as I still tap dance into the office, I’m excited about this transition. Millions of customers depend on us for our services, and more than a million employees depend on us for their livelihoods. Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.”
Amazon’s success is evident and the company doesn’t ever seem to stop growing and expanding in new ways. The marketplace currently employs 1.3 million people who serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses. As stated by Bezos, the company is widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world and the brand has become what it is today through invention.
“Invention is the root of our success. We’ve done crazy things together, and then made them normal. We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more.”
2 Responses
He forgets all about the sellers who suffer at the hands of Amazon everyday, who are punished because of Amazon and their insane “Best customer experience” mantra. We, as sellers, all want buyers to have a positive experience but not when the only one making money is Amazon. There is no doubting it is an incredibly successful platform but the margins are eroded all the time. Amazon, start supporting your sellers, after all they’re the ones who pay the wages
Agree 100% with Gary. Unfortunately, we, as sellers, can have no impact on Amazon. They are computer driven and employ mindless robots in Seller Central. Still provides me with a decent living though and I think Mr Bezos, his successor and team understand that and therefore will not adjust the hugely disproportionate balance in favour of buyers against sellers.