Andy Jassy, chief executive officer of web services at Amazon.com Inc., speaks during the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, April 19, 2017. Jassy is leading a push into artificial intelligence to boost Amazon’s cloud computing, which commands about 45 percent of the market for infrastructure as a service, where companies buy basic computing and storage power from the cloud. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will step down from his role as chief executive later this year and transition to the role of executive chair, the company said Tuesday. He will be replaced by Andy Jassy.
Bezos has been Amazon’s CEO since its founding in 1995. He oversaw its growth from an online bookseller into a $1.7 trillion global retail and logistics behemoth, which has also made Bezos into one of the world’s richest people. Jassy has worked for Amazon since 1997 and currently serves as CEO of the company’s cloud business, Amazon Web Services, its biggest profit driver.
The news came as part of Amazon’s fourth-quarter earnings report. The company handily beat Wall Street analysts’ projections for both sales and profit, capping a banner year as the pandemic boosted its retail and cloud businesses.
I – Word Understanding
Behemoth – something big and powerful
Handily – easily / conveniently
Capping – ending (something) in an impressive way
Banner year – a good and successful year
II – Have Your Say
1, Are you an Amazon customer? What can you say about Amazon’s products and which ones have you used so far?
a, Amazon Shopping
b, Amazon Prime
c, Amazon Prime Video
d, Kindle
e, Echo
f, Amazon Music
2, CEO vs Executive Chair: What is the difference? Why do you think Jeff Bezos wants to step down as CEO? A CEO is the top decision-maker for a company and the person who oversees the daily operations and logistics. By contrast, the board chairperson is the head of its board of directors. The board of directors are charged with protecting the investors’ best interests and ensuring that the company is stable and profitable.
