MANILA, Philippines – Netflix founder Reed Hastings on Thursday, January 19, US time, announced his departure as CEO of the company, alongside the release of its earnings report for Q4 2022. 

Hastings co-founded the company in 1997 with entrepreneur Marc Randolph, who tweeted that his 7 years working with Hastings have been his “highlight” in his 40-plus years as an entrepreneur.

In a blog post, Hastings said the succession had been in the works “for many years.” 

“Our board has been discussing succession planning for many years (even founders need to evolve!). As part of that process, we promoted Ted [Sarandos] to co-CEO alongside me in July 2020, and Greg [Peters] to chief operating officer – and in the last 2 1/2 years I’ve increasingly delegated the management of Netflix to them,” Hastings wrote.

Hastings’ new role, Peters as new co-CEO

Peters will be stepping into a new role as co-CEO with Sarandos, while Hastings will take on a role as executive chairman, a role he notes that other tech founders often take. “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,” Hastings said. As chairman, he’ll be “a bridge from the board to our co-CEOs.”

Hastings tweeted he will be proud to serve in the role for “many years to come.”

The executive also said he will be focusing more on philanthropy.

Hastings credited Sarandos’ “early foresight and skill” to push for the company to produce original programming, which changed their “trajectory as a company,” while Peters is credited for driving partnerships, and for currently building their games initiative. 

The moves come in the wake of a solid Q4 2022 performance that saw the streaming giant rake in 7.66 million subscribers, beating Wall Street estimates of 4.57 million, with shows like Harry & Meghan, and Wednesday, which has become the third most-watched show in its history being credited for helping pull in viewers. – Rappler.com