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Image Released, Reuters
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Jeff Bezos
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is set to step down as the CEO of the e-commerce giant, which he founded in his garage nearly 30 years ago.
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Upon stepping down, Bezos will become CEO of the company, a move he said would give him “time and energy” to focus on his other projects.
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Bezos will succeed Andy Gacy, the richest man in the world, who currently leads the cloud computing business at Amazon.
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Amazon said the change will happen in the second half of 2021.
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“As CEO, I will remain involved in important Amazon initiatives, but I will also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day One Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, the Space Exploration Company (Blue Origin) and the Washington Post,” Bezos said in a letter to Amazon employees Tuesday. And other things I’m passionate about. “
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“I didn’t have the energy before what I have today, and this has nothing to do with retirement. I am very excited about the impact that I think these organizations can have.”
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Bezos, 57, has led Amazon since it began as an online library in 1994.
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Image Released, Reuters
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Andy Gacy has been with Amazon since 1997
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The company now employs 1.3 million people globally, and has already experienced explosive growth last year, as the pandemic increased online shopping.
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The company had sales of $ 386 billion in 2020, an increase of 38% over 2019. Profits nearly doubled, rising to $ 21.3 billion.
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The change comes at a time when Bezos is gaining increasing public prominence.
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Bezos has struggled with a media-reported divorce, and has become a target for work activists and inequality.
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He was also involved in other businesses, such as Blue Origin and The Washington Post.
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