Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced he will step up as executive chairman of the streaming service on Friday.
Greg Peters, chief operating officer, will now step up as co-CEO with Ted Sarandos, who has been co-CEO with Hastings since July 2020.
In a blog post, Hastings – who co-founded the streaming service – shared that he and the board have discussed the company’s evolution and plans for succession for many years.
“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 said.
Greg Peters
Hastings applauded Sarandos and Peters for their work in ensuring continuous improvement and developing their path to reaccelerate our revenue and earnings growth over the past couple of years, noting that it has been a “baptism of fire, given COVID and recent challenges” in the business.
Hastings said: “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.”
“Ted and Greg have developed 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.”
Ted Sarandos
Hastings noted that in the role as executive chairman, he will be a bridge from the board to the co-CEOs. He added that he while focusing on Netflix’s stock doing well, he will spend more time on philanthropy.
Hastings also announced the appointment of Bela Bajaria as chief content officer and Scott Stuber as chairman of Netflix Film
“It’s been amazing to see the enormous strides we’ve made across TV and film under their leadership,” he said.
“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,” Hastings concluded.
This comes after Netflix shared it concluded 2022 on a high with 231 million paid memberships and generated US $32billion of revenue.
See also: Netflix results: New exec-chair as subscribers grow to new high of 231m as viewing records set
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Top image: Reed Hastings