Former Amazon Chief Executive (CEO) Jeff Bezos has disclosed his motivation for abruptly resigning from the e-commerce behemoth he founded. In a candid podcast interview, Bezos explained he felt compelled to devote more time to his budding space company Blue Origin.Why did Jeff Bezos step down from his CEO postSpeaking on the Lex Fridman Show, the billionaire businessman said Blue Origins development was being impeded by also occupying Amazons top job. He took the tough decision to relinquish his CEO duties to catalyse faster growth at his aerospace venture.Bezos explained that in good conscience, he could not shortchange Amazon stakeholders by splitting focus across both enterprises. As executive chairman of a publicly listed firm, he believed he owed shareholders full attention to protect their interests.The founder said his ongoing deep involvement at Blue Origin necessitated stepping back from daily leadership of Amazon after almost 30 years of building it from the ground up.What is Blue Origins aimWhile mostly enjoyable, Bezos acknowledged his intensive work developing Blue Origins next-generation space vehicles has involved painful frustrations. But he feels an urgency to realise ambitions that date back to founding the company in 2000.Best known for its suborbital New Shepard rocket and orbital-class New Glenn heavy launcher, Blue Origin also made headlines for its Blue Moon lunar lander. It aims to support NASAs goal of returning humans to the Moon this decade.For Bezos, space innovation represents the ultimate long-term business defined by high risk, immense technical obstacles and long capital investment horizons. By liberating time from Amazons oversight, he can directly tackle engineering challenges and instil hunger throughout Blue Origins workforce.Now valued at over $1 trillion, Amazon has firmly established itself as the worlds leading e-tail giant. This provided Bezos the flexibility to pursue his alternative passion without compromising the retail conglomerate.The billionaire made clear though that despite transferring the CEO title, he retains deep engagement as Amazons executive chairman. But Blue Origin and its mission to enable millions of people living and working in space will command the bulk of its energies going forward.
