Netflix founder Reed Hastings steps down as co-CEO

Mumbai: Netflix founder Reed Hastings has stepped down as co-CEO. Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters are now co-CEOs. Hastings is now executive chairman. In a blog post, he said that he is following the lead of other founders like Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Microsoft's Bill Gates.

"I’m so proud of our first 25 years, and so excited about our next quarter of a century. We can do so much more to better entertain the world and deliver more joy to our members.

"Our board has been discussing succession planning for many years (even founders need to evolve!). As part of that process, we promoted Ted to co-CEO alongside me in July 2020, and Greg to chief operating officer – and in the last 2½ years I’ve increasingly delegated the management of Netflix to them."

He added that it was a baptism by fire, given covid and recent challenges within the business. "But they’ve both managed incredibly well, ensuring Netflix continues to improve and developing a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue and earnings growth. So the board and I believe it’s the right time to complete my succession.

"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."

He praised Sarandos and Peters for developing great trust and respect for each other through their collective successes and failures. "In addition, they can always be relied upon to put Netflix’s interests first. These qualities — combined with their complementary skill sets, deep knowledge of entertainment and technology, and proven track record at Netflix — create a unique opportunity to deliver faster growth and greater success long term with them as co-CEOs.

"Looking back, Ted had the early foresight and skill to push into original programming, changing our trajectory as a company. He then moved quickly to expand into international originals, film, animation, and unscripted — bets that have helped broaden our content slate and which took courage given all the skepticism. Greg has been instrumental in driving our partnerships, building and launching advertising, pushing us into deeper personalisation, rebuilding our talent organisation and helping to strengthen our culture. He also spent several years in Japan, launching our early efforts in Japanese originals as the country’s general manager, and is currently building out our games initiative."

He explains that he will be helping them and that, like any good chairman, he will be a bridge from the board to them. "I’ll also be spending more time on philanthropy and remain very focused on Netflix's stock doing well."

"Also, today, we have made Bela Bajaria chief content officer and Scott Stuber chairman of Netflix Film. It’s been amazing to see the enormous strides we’ve made across TV and film under their leadership.

"We start 2023 with renewed momentum as a company and a clear path to reaccelerate our growth. I’m thrilled about Ted and Greg’s leadership, and their ability to make the next 25 years even better than the first.

"Here's to the next chapter of Netflix and our leadership."