By Francis Ogwo
The founder of Amazon.com.inc, Jeff Bezos, will step down from his position as the Chief Executive Officer of the company by the third quarter of 2021 with Andy Jassy, who is currently the Head of the company’s cloud computing unit, replacing him.
According to a statement by Amazon on Tuesday, fifty-three-year-old Jassy has been tipped as the best fit to replace Bezos who founded the company as an online bookstore from his Seattle garage over 25 years ago making the list of the wealthiest men in the world.
Reports say the chances of Jassy to the exalted position was made more clearer after the consumer business chief Jeff Wilke who was also a potential successor announced his planned resignation within the year.
Observers had opined also that the transition arrives at time when Amazon seems unstoppable, fueled by record sales amid the pandemic and generating massive cash and profits from Amazon Web Services, which Jassy helped create and manage.
Bezos was quoted as saying:“When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention.
“Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”
Revenue will be $100 billion to $106 billion in the quarter ending in March, the Seattle-based company said Tuesday in a statement.
Amazon projected operating income of $3 billion to $6.5 billion. Analysts, on average, estimated profit of $6.07 billion on sales of $95.72 billion.
The online retailer reported fourth-quarter sales jumped 44% to $125.6 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $119.7 billion. Earnings were $14.09 per share, compared with analyst projections of $7.34. The shares were little changed in post-market trading.
