Jeff Bezos has officially stepped down as Amazon CEO, handing the role over to Andy Jassy. Amazon first announced the decision back in February of this year, while also explaining that Bezos would instead become Executive Chair in order to focus on new projects, including the Bezos Earth Fund, an initiative providing $10 billion in funds to scientists and nonprofits working to help the environment, and The Washington Post, which Bezos purchased back in 2013. 

Bezos founded Amazon in 1994. In the intervening years, Amazon has grown into a tech giant which offers services like Amazon Sidewalk to improve how smart home devices work together. Jassy has also served the company as CEO of Amazon Web Services and played a crucial role in Amazon becoming a force within the cloud computing arena. When the change in CEO was first announced, Jassy sent out an email to employees stating that one of the intentions going forward was to continue backing and developing Amazon Game Studios

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In the new executive chair role, Bezos plans to focus on some of the larger company-level issues, including the claims Amazon has recently faced over its treatment of warehouse workers, according to CNN. Bezos will still have significant influence on the company, especially as there's still roughly 10-percent of Amazon shares personally involved. This share investment also means that Bezos’s vote could play a huge part in any decision shareholders make. Furthermore, it seems that Bezos and Jassy share a close working relationship, so it stands to reason that Bezos’ opinion will continue to hold weight with the new CEO. Jassy previously worked as Bezos’s “shadow,” according to CNN, and has been part of Bezos' “S-team” for some time. 

Bezos' Future With & Without Amazon

Amazon logo on a phone screen

Jassy will undoubtedly oversee exciting new chapters in Amazon’s story, including many of the developments that were already underway before the changeover. For example, the company recently acquired messaging platform Wickr, which offers encrypted direct messaging and a strong focus on security in general, and could showcase Amazon moving more into the messaging app sphere in the future. 

In addition to the continued influence within Amazon, it will also be interesting to see just what Bezos does next outside as well. For example, there's the spaceflight company, Blue Origin, with is due to take its first commercial flight on July 20 with Bezos on board. Considering one of Bezos' first major post-CEO projects will be space travel, it seems certain that Amazon's former CEO will continue to make world-changing moves. 

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Source: CNN