Stepping Down From His CEO Title, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Shows His Human Side By Pursuing His Passions

During the pandemic, it became common for people to reevaluate their job and career choices. As we saw family, friends and work colleagues contract Covid-19 or succumb to the disease, it made us think deeply about our own lives.

One of the biggest questions we ask ourselves is if we are pursuing a passion that offers meaning and purpose. It stokes the internal conversation of, “Can I remain doing the same job for the next five, 10 or 20 years?”

For many people, it’s time to consider pivoting to a new career or reinventing themselves. Being human, we all go through this thought process. It doesn’t matter if you’re a minimum-wage worker or Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

On Tuesday, Bezos, the richest person in the world, said he’s ready to step down from his title as chief executive officer. In a company blog post, Bezos wrote, “I’m excited to announce that this Q3, I’ll transition to executive chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO.” Bezos added, “In the exec chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives.”

To relieve any concerns, he said about Jassy, “Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.” Brian Olsavsky, chief financial officer of Amazon, was quick to say to investors, “I will reiterate [Jeff Bezos] is not leaving.” Olsavsky added, “He’s going to be executive chairman, super important role, super active in the Amazon success story.”

From a corporate perspective, Bezos’ timing is impeccable. The company reported blockbuster financial results and its stock price has been on fire. Bezos will hand over the title this summer so Jassy, the chief executive of Amazon’s cloud computing division, can smoothly transition into the role effective July.

We tend to place uber-wealthy successful people on a pedestal and forget that they’re human. There is much speculation as to his transition; however, the answer may be simple and straightforward. At the pinnacle of the corporate world, there is little time outside of work.

Bezos has run Amazon for over 25 years. It’s been demanding, challenging, requiring forsaking obligations to family and friends and capturing all of his rapt attention.

Bezos said in the blog post, “As much as I still tap dance into the office, I’m excited about this transition. Millions of customers depend on us for our services, and more than a million employees depend on us for their livelihoods. Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else.”

Taking his words at face value, Bezos seems ready to take a step back from the day-to-day, pressure-filled grind of running a business of this enormity. It’s understandable that he’d like a change.

Bezos is looking forward to spending more time pursuing other passions that offer him meaning and satisfaction. In the post, Bezos said, “As exec chair, I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives, but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, the Washington Post and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.”

This may have been in the works for a while. Over the last few years, it’s been reported that Bezos has pulled back from some of Amazon’s day-to-day business. He delegates responsibilities to other executives, including Jassy.

Bezos will remain Amazon’s biggest shareholder, owning over 10% of the company, and stay on the board of directors.

He’s not alone in this pivot. Other billionaire CEOs and top executives, such as Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin, left their executive positions to spend time doing other things that they’re interested in.

Bezos has garnered negative attention, as his wealth swelled to almost unimaginable heights, while many Americans are just scraping by. In this particular aspect, he shared his most human side, acknowledging that it’s time to do something new, different, exciting and passionate about.