Bezos to step down as CEO of Amazon

Andy Jassy, head of Amazon Web Services, to succeed him in the transition set for the third quarter

New York: Jeff Bezos, who built an online bookstore into a $1.7-trillion technology empire reaching into space, has announced he will be stepping down as CEO at the apex of his career to focus on innovations.

Bezos, who extended the company's reach to India with multi-billion dollar investments, said on Tuesday that he will move away from its day-to-day operations and become the executive chairman of Amazon's board.

Bezos said that in his new role he intends "to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives". Andy Jassy, the head of the conglomerate's web services, is to succeed him as Amazon's CEO in the transition set for the third quarter.

It is estimated that about half of the company's revenue comes from Amazon Web Services (AWS). The phenomenal growth of Amazon's retail business has made it a target for anti-monopoly actions and it will be Jassy's lot to navigate through a spate of regulatory challenges from the US to Europe to India.

The company's ubiquitousness has come with the backlash that it is the killer of "mom-and-pop" businesses -- the small retailers mowed down by its might and customer convenience it is lauded for.

When Bezos visited India last year, small retailers under the umbrella of the Confederation of All India Traders protested against him and his company.

Amazon and Bezos have also been criticised for the stringent expectations they have for the employees and what labour advocates describe as low pay and harsh working conditions for workers in the lower rungs.

Amazon had a market capitalisation of $1.696 trillion on Tuesday, making it the planet's fourth-largest company by value.

India was seen by Bezos as one of Amazon's potential high-growth market and he is investing a total of $6.5 billion there. He was involved in a controversial attempt to acquire retail giant Futures Group, but was thwarted by Mukesh Ambani. Besides retail, Amazon India distributes Bollywood and other entertainment through its Prime services.

Bezos, who started his company reportedly with an initial investment of $10,000 in 1994 is now worth about $180 billion making him the world's second-richest man.

A progression of platforms and technologies followed naturally. From printed books, he made the leap to Kindle, the digital device to read books and do more electronically. From his company's data needs, he built up AWS.

Independent of Amazon, Bezos bought the ailing Washington Post and is bringing it back to its former position of influence and reach.