Netflix Founder and CEO Reed Hastings Steps Down — Retail Bum

Netflix founder Reed Hastings has revealed that he is giving up his chief executive position.

In a tweet sent out on Thursday, Hastings noted that he would still remain the executive chairman “for many years to come.”

Greg Peters, the company’s chief operating officer (COO), will be taking over Hastings’ role and will be joining the company board. Ted Sarandos will also stay on as co-CEO.

At this point in time, it remains to be seen whether somebody will backfill the COO position.

“I want to thank Reed for his visionary leadership, mentorship and friendship over the last 20 years,” said Sarandos in a statement.

“We’ve all learned so much from his intellectual rigor, honesty and willingness to take big bets — and we look forward to working with him for many more years to come.”

Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997, and Sarandos was promoted to co-CEO to work alongside Hastings in July 2020. During this time, Peters was also appointed to the role of COO.

To add to the executive shakeup, the company’s global head of television, Bela Bajaria, will now take on the role of chief content officer, while Scott Stuber, who was previously the head of global film at Netflix, will step in as chairman of Netflix Film.

The announcements were made alongside the company’s earnings report on Thursday, which revealed that the streaming giant met Wall Street’s revenue expectations and gained millions more subscribers than anticipated.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on January 20, 2023.