Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix, announced his retirement after more than two decades with the company.
In a blog post published by the company, Hastings stated that he will now serve as executive chairman, while Greg Peters will transition from COO to co-CEO with Ted Sanders. Netflix is led by two CEOs. As a co-chief executive, the company’s chief product and chief operating officer will join Ted Sarandos, chief content officer. In July 2020, Sarandos was promoted to co-CEO.
The announcement came just before Netflix reported its fourth-quarter earnings. In Q4, the company exceeded expectations by adding 7.7 million subscribers, far exceeding the 4.5 million expected. The company earned $7.85 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2022, continuing its recent trend of slowing revenue growth.
“Starting today, Greg Peters will step up from COO to become Ted’s co-CEO. Going forward, I’ll be serving as Executive Chairman, a role that founders often take (Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, etc.) after they pass the CEO baton to others. Ted, Greg, and I have been working closely together in different capacities for 15 years. As is common in long, effective relationships, we’ve all learned how to bring out the best in each other. I look forward to working with them in this role for many years to come,” the announcement said.
Since the announcement, the company’s share price has been boosted by about 6%.
The sources for this piece include an article in TechCrunch.
