Jeff Bezos To Hang Up His Boots As Amazon CEOWorld richest's individual in the third quarter will become executive chair of the Amazon board

World's richest individual, Jeff Bezos, on Tuesday announced he will step down from the role of chief executive officer of e-commerce colossus Amazon to become the executive chair of the Amazon board. Andy Jassy, who is currently the founder of Amazon Web Services, will replace Bezos after the company reported third consecutive record profit and quarterly sales above $100 billion for the first time.

Bezos in a letter to his employees said he will transition to the new role in the third quarter and intends to focus his energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Bezos, who launched Amazon in 1994, in his letter said, "This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. The question I was asked most frequently at that time was, "What's the Internet?" Blessedly, I haven't had to explain that in a long while."

Currently, the company employs 1.3 million people and serves hundreds of millions of customers and businesses.

In his new role, Bezos will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives and focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and his 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," he added.

Bezos said that Jassy has been working with him since the beginning and expressed his confidence in him as an outstanding leader.