Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will officially step down from his role as chief executive on July 5, he announced during the company's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday.
Bezos will hand the reins to Andy Jassy, who currently runs Amazon Web Services, after a nearly three-decade run leading the internet giant that made him one of the richest people in the world. Bezos will become Amazon's executive chair.
The company first announced the leadership change as part of its February earnings report, saying Jassy would take over during the fiscal third quarter. Amazon had not previously shared the precise date of the transition, reports CNN.
The timing is "sentimental," Bezos said — July 5 is the date Amazon was incorporated in 1994.
"I'm very excited to move into the [executive] chair role, where I'll focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives," Bezos said Wednesday. In February, he said he was looking forward to having more time to work on his ventures outside the company, such as the Bezos Earth Fund and Blue Origin.
Bezos said he expects that Jassy — who has been at the company for 24 years and risen through its ranks to run its most profitable division — will be "an outstanding leader."
"He has the highest of high standards and I guarantee Andy will never let the universe make us typical," Bezos said. "He has the energy needed to keep alive in us what has made us special."
