Σύμφωνα με ανακοίνωση της εταιρείας, μετά από 25 χρόνια ως CEO της Amazon, μεταβιβάζει την εξουσία του στα τέλη Σεπτεμβρίου.

Ο Τζεφ Μπέζος, ιδρυτής και διευθύνων σύμβουλος της Amazon, θα παραδώσει τα ηνία του γίγαντα του ηλεκτρονικού εμπορίου, μεταβαίνοντας σε νέο ρόλο ως εκτελεστικός πρόεδρος.

Ο Andy Jassy, επί του παρόντος CEO της Amazon Web Services (AWS), θα γίνει CEO της Amazon.com με την αποχώρησή του ιδρυτή της εταιρείας.

Η δήλωση του Μπέζος

«Η Amazon είναι αυτή που είναι λόγω της εφεύρεσης» δήλωσε ο Μπέζος σε ανακοίνωσή του. «Κάνουμε τρελά πράγματα μαζί και μετά τα κάνουμε (να είναι) κανονικά. Πραγματοποιήσαμε πρωτοποριακές κριτικές πελατών, το 1-Click, εξατομικευμένες προτάσεις, απίστευτα γρήγορη αποστολή της Prime, αγορές Just Walk Out, τα Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, cloud computing και πολλά άλλα».

«Αν το κάνετε σωστά, λίγα χρόνια μετά από μια εκπληκτική εφεύρεση, το νέο (πράγμα) έχει γίνει φυσιολογικό» είπε, υποστηρίζοντας πως αυτή τη στιγμή βλέπει την Amazon στο «πιο εφευρετικό της στάδιο, καθιστώντας ιδανική αυτή τη μετάβαση (εξουσίας)».

Σημειώνεται πως ο Μπέζος ξεκίνησε την εταιρεία το 1994 και σήμερα είναι ο CEO και μεγαλομέτοχος με ποσοστό 16%. Οσο αυξάνεται η μετοχή της Amazon, τόσο αυξάνεται και ο πλούτος του. Σύμφωνα με το Business Insider, από το 1997 η μετοχή της Amazon αυξήθηκε κατά… 97.000%, γεγονός που εξηγεί τη γιγάντωση της περιουσίας του.

Ο Τζεφ Μπέζος, ωστόσο, δεν έμεινε στην Amazon και είναι γνωστός για τις «επιθετικές» επενδύσεις και εξαγορές.

Το 2009 αγόρασε την online εταιρεία πώλησης παπουτσιών Zapos έναντι 1,2 δισ. δολαρίων, ενώ το 2017 εξαγόρασε τη Whole Foods έναντι 13,7 δισ. Με την αγορά της Whole Foods κατέχει πλέον μερίδιο 18% από την συνολική «πίτα» των online σούπερ μάρκετ στις ΗΠΑ. Ακολούθησε το 2018 μια γιγαντιαία επένδυση του Μπέζος, ύψους 17,5 δισ. δολαρίων στην Amazon Web Services.

Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

Fellow Amazonians:

I’m excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO. In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.

This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. 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.

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.

How did that happen? 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. If you get it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. And that yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive.

I don’t know of another company with an invention track record as good as Amazon’s, and I believe we are at our most inventive right now. I hope you are as proud of our inventiveness as I am. I think you should be.

As Amazon became large, we decided to use our scale and scope to lead on important social issues. Two high-impact examples: our $15 minimum wage and the Climate Pledge. In both cases, we staked out leadership positions and then asked others to come along with us. In both cases, it’s working. Other large companies are coming our way. I hope you’re proud of that as well.

I find my work meaningful and fun. I get to work with the smartest, most talented, most ingenious teammates. When times have been good, you’ve been humble. When times have been tough, you’ve been strong and supportive, and we’ve made each other laugh. It is a joy to work on this team.

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. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on 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 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 couldn’t be better positioned for the future. We are firing on all cylinders, just as the world needs us to. We have things in the pipeline that will continue to astonish. We serve individuals and enterprises, and we’ve pioneered two complete industries and a whole new class of devices. We are leaders in areas as varied as machine learning and logistics, and if an Amazonian’s idea requires yet another new institutional skill, we’re flexible enough and patient enough to learn it.

Keep inventing, and don’t despair when at first the idea looks crazy. Remember to wander. Let curiosity be your compass. It remains Day 1.

Jeff