米アマゾンのベゾス氏、今年ＣＥＯ退任へ　慈善事業などに軸足

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】アマゾン・ドットコムの創業者、ジェフ・ベゾス氏は2日、今年第3四半期（7～9月期）に同社の最高経営責任者（CEO）を退任すると発表した。後任のCEOには、クラウド部門アマゾン・ウェブサービシズを率いるアンディ・ジャシー氏が昇格する。（写真はアマゾン・ドットコムの創業者、ジェフ・ベゾス氏）
　新型コロナウイルスのパンデミック（世界的な大流行）を受けたロックダウン（都市封鎖）により、世界中でネット通販の売り上げが爆発的に伸びる中、アマゾンの２０２０年第４四半期（１０～１２月期）決算は、売上高が前年同期比４４％増の１２５６億ドル（約１３兆１７００億円）、純利益は同２倍以上の７２億ドル（約７５００億円）となっていた。
　アマゾン従業員向けの書簡でベゾス氏は「アマゾンの重要な計画には関与し続ける」が、自身が創設した「ベゾス・デイワン基金」や「ベゾス・アース・ファンド」などの慈善・社会事業、宇宙開発、ジャーナリズムなどの事業に軸足を移すと明らかにした。
　ベゾス氏は「私がこれほどのエネルギーを持ったことはかつてなく、これは引退ではない」と記し、「これらの組織が持ち得ると私が考えているインパクトに今、非常に情熱を持っている」 と述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/02/03-14:30）

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Tuesday he would stand aside later this year as chief executive of the company he built from a start-up into one of the world's most valuable firms.
The world's richest person based on his Amazon stake, Bezos said he will transition to the role of executive chair in the third quarter, handing over the CEO role to Andy Jassy, who heads Amazon Web Services.
The news came as Amazon reported a blowout holiday quarter with profits more than doubling to $7.2 billion and revenue jumping 44 percent to $125.6 billion -- as pandemic lockdowns caused online sales to explode around the globe.
In a letter to Amazon employees, Bezos said he would stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but would pivot towards philanthropic initiatives, including his Day One Fund and Bezos Earth Fund, and other business ventures in space and journalism.
I've never had more energy, and this isn't about retiring, Bezos wrote.
I'm super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.
Bezos, 57, founded Amazon in his garage in 1994 and went on to grow it into a colossus that dominates online retail, with operations in streaming music and television, groceries, cloud computing, robotics, artificial intelligence and more.
His other businesses include The Washington Post newspaper and the private space firm Blue Origin.
His successor Jassy joined Amazon as a marketing manager in 1997 and in 2003 founded AWS, the cloud services division of the company which has been one of the most profitable but least-known units of the tech colossus.
Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have, Bezos said in a statement. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.
Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition, he said.
- Vast expansion-
Bezos's tenure at Amazon has been marked by a stunning success over the past few years that has seen a vast expansion globally and surges in profitability.
The company based in Seattle, Washington, and developing a second headquarters outside the US capital.
The company's market value was some 1.69 trillion as of Tuesday, a tenfold increase from a decade ago, making it one of the world's most valuable.
Bezos's stake makes gives him a personal fortune worth an estimated $196 billion, slightly more than Elon Musk who had briefly captured the title of world's wealthiest person.
Amazon has faced criticism over workplace conditions at its extensive warehouse operations but has also led other businesses by guaranteeing a minimum $15 per hour wage and has invested billions in Covid-19 mitigation.
The company employs more than one million people worldwide including 800,000 in the United States.
The transition comes with Amazon and other large tech firms under heightened scrutiny from antitrust enforcers in the United States and elsewhere for their dominance of key economic sectors, which has become even more pronounced during the Covid-19 pandemic.