The news was like a bomb. It took everyone by surprise in the tech and investment world.
Jeff Bezos is leaving after the record year 2020 in terms of sales for Amazon with $386 billion, an increase of +38% compared to 2019!
He leaves the hand to Andy Jassy who has been working with him for 20 years and who has made AWS a huge success. Jeff Bezos will be there to support him, but will now remain in the shadows.
In my opinion, there are two main reasons for Jeff Bezos' decision. I will detail them here:
The first is that Jeff Bezos wants more time to devote to the project of his life: colonizing space. He will now be able to work full-time for Blue Origin.
The second one is that Jeff Bezos wants to restore his image like a Bill Gates by letting himself in philanthropy. His tarnished image was starting to hurt Amazon, and Jeff Bezos thinks it's time for him to move on.
It's a brave decision that fits Jeff Bezos' personality.