Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will relinquish his role as the retail behemoth’s chief executive this summer, passing the baton to Andy Jassy, the current chief of Amazon’s hugely profitable cloud computing division. Bezos, who in recent years had already “stepped back from much of the day-to-day business,” will take on the role of executive chairman once Jassy transitions into the CEO role. “Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition,” Bezos told employees in a statement reflecting on his 27 years at the helm. Bezos says he will now shift his focus towards “new products and early initiatives.” The pioneering founder will leave the job on the back of Amazon landing record quarterly sales from soaring online holiday shopping driven by a largely housebound customer base. The WSJ writes.

Shares of Amazon were up about 1% in extended trading Tuesday on the back of the earnings report and the C-suite news. The company’s stock has gained about 4% so far in 2021 and is up nearly 70% in the last 12 months. Amazon’s chief financial officer, Brian Olsavsky, said on a media call that the executive change was decided in consultation with Amazon’s board of directors. He said Bezos will remain very involved and have his fingerprints on lots of different parts of the company. Olsavsky said Jassy is a visionary leader who will bring his own skill set but that Amazon expects a lot of continuity with the transition.