Why did Jeff Bezos leave Amazon?
Jeff Bezos takes a step back for two main reasons in my opinion. I detail them here:
The news was a bombshell in the world of tech and investment. After nearly 27 years at the head of Amazon, Jeff Bezos has just announced that he will be stepping down as CEO at the end of the first half of 2021. Jeff Bezos chose to announce this at the time of the announcement of Amazon’s 2020 results.
It is always easier to announce bad news (for investors) after having announced the good news.
The good news is that Amazon had an exceptional 2020 year. The coronavirus pandemic has benefited the revenues of all the GAFAs, and Amazon is obviously no exception. The company founded by Jeff Bezos had revenues of $386 billion in 2020, an increase of +38% compared to the fiscal year 2019.
The figures are dizzying. To replace him at the head of Amazon, Jeff Bezos has chosen one of his closest collaborators. Indeed, it is Andy Jassy, the current boss of the very profitable AWS (Amazon Web Services) entity, who will replace him as CEO of Amazon.
Jeff Bezos takes a step back for two main reasons in my opinion. I detail them here:
- The first is that he wants to have more time to devote to the real purpose of his life: colonizing space. By leaving operations to Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos will have much more time to devote to his company Blue Origin.
2. The second reason is that Jeff Bezos wants to improve his image from now on. He is following the example of Bill Gates, who left the position of CEO of Microsoft in 2000 to devote himself to philanthropic actions afterward.
Twenty years later, few people still associate Bill Gates with Microsoft. He is more willingly associated with his foundation. Jeff Bezos makes this bet because he feels that his tarnished image is increasingly damaging Amazon. The latest example is the $10 billion JEDI contract that Amazon has been unable to obtain, apparently because of the editorial line of the Washington Post, which Jeff Bezos also owns.
So it’s time for Jeff Bezos to take a step back.
