AWS chief Andy Jassy once served as Jeff Bezos' first 'shadow' adviser. Now, he'll replace Bezos as Amazon CEO.

• Andy Jassy, CEO of AWS, will take over as Amazon CEO in Q3 2021.
• Jassy was once Jeff Bezos' "shadow" adviser, a quasi-chief of staff who joined his every meeting.
• Jassy built AWS from the ground up since 2003, becoming one of the most powerful execs in tech.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is handing over the reins of the company to his longtime second-in-command: Andy Jassy.

Jassy, 53, who currently serves as CEO of AWS, will take over in the third quarter of 2021, Bezos announced in a letter to employees Tuesday afternoon.

"Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have," Bezos wrote. "He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence."

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Jassy is a 24-year veteran of Amazon - he joined the company in 1997, the year it went public. While Bezos' announcement was unexpected, Jassy's appointment to the helm of Amazon isn't much of a surprise: he's long been Bezos' second-in-command, and once served as his first "shadow" adviser, a quasi-chief of staff who joins the CEO's every meeting.

He became one of the most powerful and highest-paid execs at Amazon, having made more than $20 million in total compensation over the past three years.

Jassy helped build AWS from the ground up since 2003. During that time, he's become one of the most established and influential figures in the world of corporate technology - AWS has grown into a massive business that generates over $40 billion in annual revenue, and the de facto leader in cloud computing, with over 30% of market share.

AWS is also a key source of Amazon's profitability: it's responsible for over 60% of Amazon's operating profits, though its sales are just 13% of the total.

Jassy's work at AWS has drawn the respect of other industry leaders as well. At one point, Microsoft's former CEO Steve Ballmer approached Jassy about becoming his successor, before the company eventually appointed Satya Nadella, according to a person familiar with the talks. Jassy was also rumored to be in the running for Uber's CEO position shortly after Travis Kalanick stepped down in 2017.

Jassy will assume the role of Amazon CEO in the third quarter of 2021, at which time Bezos will become executive chairman of Amazon's board.

For more on Jassy, read Insider's full profile »