Thursday, the co-founder and CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, announced he was stepping down. While he will not be the CEO anymore, Hastings says he will still be around and will fill the responsibility of Executive Chairman.
Ted & Greg are now co-CEOs. After 15 years together we have a great shorthand & I’m so confident in their leadership. Twice the heart, double the ability to please members & accelerate growth. Proud to serve as Executive Chairman for many years to come https://t.co/oYc0laqMXQ
— Reed Hastings (@reedhastings) January 19, 2023
Why is Hastings stepping down?
Hastings’s decision to act as an Executive Chairman is not unusual for founders of major companies. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates also served as Executive Chairmen when they stepped down from the companies they founded. In a blog post on the company’s website, Hastings wrote, “Our board has been discussing succession planning for many years (even founders need to evolve!).” He also stated he and the board believe it’s the right time for him to complete his succession, and it was a “baptism by fire.” Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997. Hastings is stepping down as the company attempts to boost subscriptions after some concerning numbers in recent quarters. In its second quarter, Netflix announced a loss of an estimated 970,000 subscribers. The company has worked to generate more revenue by making changes to the business model, including cracking down on password sharing.
Who will take over?
In the company blog post, Hastings wrote Ted Sarandos is the new CEO. Sarandos has served as Hastings’ co-CEO since July 2020. During that same time frame, Greg Peters served as Chief Operating officer. Now, Sanders is the co-CEO. Hastings says in his role as Executive Chairman, he will “be a bridge from the board to our co-CEOs. I’ll also be spending more time on philanthropy and remain very focused on Netflix stock doing well.”
Hastings ended his letter by welcoming the next chapter of Netflix.
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