Reed Hastings, co-founder of the streaming giant Netflix has decided to step down as CEO of the company leaving the position to his two long-time associate Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. Hastings will serve as executive chairman of the company.
The new set up will see Co-CEO Ted Sarandos remaining in his position, while Greg Peters, the Chief Operating Officer, will assume Hastings’ co-CEO role as well as join the company’s board.
The announcement comes as Netflix announced a big rise in subscriber numbers in Q4 of 2022, adding 7.66 million paid subscribers, far more than the 4.57 million expected by analysts.
“Our board has been discussing succession planning for many years (even founders need to evolve!), The board and I believe it’s the right time to complete my succession.” Hastings said in a blog post.
Hastings has been signaling he would step aside for a few years. He elevated Sarandos to co-CEO in 2020 and named Peters COO at the same time. He already delegated almost all Hollywood decisions to Sarandos, and has gradually pulled back from the day-to-day affairs of the business.
“2022 was a tough year, with a bumpy start but a brighter finish,” the company said in a statement. “We believe we have a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue growth: continuing to improve all aspects of Netflix, launching paid sharing and building our ads offering. As always, our north stars remain pleasing our members and building even greater profitability over time.”
“I want to thank Reed for his visionary leadership, mentorship and friendship over the last 20 years,” Sarandos said a statement. “We’ve all learned so much from his intellectual rigor, honesty and willingness to take big bets — and we look forward to working with him for many more years to come.”
In a statement, Hastings added “We start 2023 with renewed momentum as a company and a clear path to reaccelerate our growth.”
