Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos Stepping Down

Bezos is stepping down after many contributions to the IoT world.

Jeff Bezos will step into his new role as executive chair of the company. (Stock photo.)

Jeff Bezos will step into his new role as executive chair of the company. (Stock photo.)

When Jeff Bezos, otherwise known as Jeffrey Preston Bezos, created Amazon in 1995 as a virtual bookstore, he did not expect that the company would quickly become a leader in e-commerce. Open 24 hours a day, Amazon is a site that people now flock to when purchasing anything from food to electronics, any time of the day. After 27 years of massive achievements, Bezos has announced that he is stepping down soon as the company’s CEO.

Bezos will be transitioning into his new role as executive chair come the third quarter of 2021.

“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,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, and CEO. “When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention. Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”

The company announced that Andy Jassy, the current CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), will take Bezos’ place in the fall.

Bezos started his journey at Princeton University, graduating with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. He soon found himself at the New York investment bank D.E. Shaw & Co., where he was the senior vice president. While there, Bezos started working on the software for Amazon in his garage with a handful of employees. The first users were 300 of his friends. They eventually expanded operations to Bezos’ two-bedroom house.

What started out as a site where users could post book reviews turned into one of the largest retailers worldwide. In two months, the site reached $20,000 sales a week without any media help. It was not until 1998 that the site added CDs to its inventory and videos a year later. In 1999, the site hosted auctions and invested in other virtual stores. 

To say that Amazon was successful in its first year would be an understatement. The site went from making $510,000 a year in 1995 to $17 billion in 2011. It also influenced many retailers to establish their own virtual stores. 

Amazon introduced its AWS in 2006, offering a broad set of global cloud-based products, including compute, storage, databases, analytics, networking, mobile, developer tools, management tools, IoT, security, and enterprise applications. Amazon’s cloud computing service became the largest cloud service in the world. 

Amazon has also added numerous products to its name. Going back to its roots, the company introduced Kindle, which allows users to digitally purchase, download and read any book through the Internet on demand. The company also introduced Amazon Studios, bringing unique television shows and movies to viewers across the globe. In 2013, the company experimented with Amazon Prime Air, a delivery service using drones. 

Bezos also founded his own spaceflight company, Blue Origin, in 2000, which introduced a crewed suborbital spacecraft, New Shepard, in 2018 and an orbital launch vehicle, New Glenn, in 2020. 

There’s no doubt that Bezos contributed a lot to the world of IoT and can successfully take a break from his ever-expanding duties. The Internet entrepreneur, industrialist, media proprietor, and investor (phew, that’s a lot) broke the news of his transition in an email to Amazon employees. 

“When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention to anything else. 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 m y other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring,” said Bezos. 

Throwing in a bit of humor, Bezos recalled the company’s early days.

“The question I was asked most frequently at that time was, ‘What’s the internet?’ Blessedly, I haven’t had to explain that in a long while.” He added, “Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world.”

Andy Jassy is set to replace Jeff Bezos in Q3 2021. (Stock photo.)

Andy Jassy is set to replace Jeff Bezos in Q3 2021. (Stock photo.)

Andy Jassy, also known as Andrew Jassy, has led AWS since its inception in 2003. Today, the service is the company’s biggest moneymaker, bringing in $45 billion annually. Working alongside Bezos since 1997, Jassy will lead Amazon through its next chapter.