KOLKATA: The announcement had been made in February this year: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would vacate his post, handing over the reins to the company’s top cloud executive Andy Jassy. Bezos would transition to chairman of Amazon’s executive board. No date was revealed at that time. Now we know when he will follow through on that announcement. Speaking at the company shareholders’ annual general  meeting (AGM),  Bezos revealed that 5 July will be his last official working day as CEO, and Bassy’s first day as head honcho of Amazon.  

Under Bezos leadership has transformed from being a bookseller to ecommerce pioneer to cloud computing pioneer to entertainment trail blazer.

"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 stated at the AGM. “We chose that date because it’s sentimental for me, the day Amazon was incorporated in 1994, exactly 27 years ago,” he added further.

Jassy is currently heading Amazon Web Services, who will be replaced by Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky after he takes over his new position. Considerably, the cloud segment is now the company’s most profitable segment.

Bezos shared his confidence in Jassy saying: “He has the highest of high standards and I guarantee that Andy will never let the universe make us typical. He has the energy needed to keep alive in us what has made us special.”

While Bezos will still be involved in major corporate decisions, he will focus more on other ventures like Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin and The Washington Post.