Netflix founder Reed Hastings steps down as CEO; to continue as Executive Chairman

Nextflix founder Reed Hastings has stepped down from the role of CEO after a nearly 25-year run. He will, however, stay on as the Executive Chairman in the company.

Through a blog post, Hastings stated that it is a calculated move and was being planned by the streaming giant’s Board for years and also that Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters will now helm the company as Co-Founders.

“Our board has been discussing succession planning 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 two-and-a-half years I’ve increasingly delegated the management of Netflix to them,” Hastings said in a blog post on Thursday.

“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 after they pass the CEO baton to others,” Hastings added.

In the blog post he further stated that Ted, Greg and Hastings have been working closely together in different capacities for 15 years. 

“I look forward to working with them in this role for many years to come,” Hastings stated.

“I’ll be helping Greg and Ted, and, like any good Chairman, be a bridge from the board to our co-CEOs. I’ll also be spending more time on philanthropy, and remain very focused on Netflix stock doing well,” he added.

In addition, Bela Bajaria has been appointed as the Chief Content Officer and Scott Stuber will be working as the Chairman of Netflix Film. 

This announcement comes on the back of the news that the streaming platform has added 7.7 million subscribers in the recently concluded Q4 of FY2022.

As per Netflix’s filing, now it has a total of over 230 million global subscribers.

“Q4’22 revenue, operating profit and membership growth exceeded our forecast - we continue to lead the industry in streaming engagement, revenue and profit,” the company said in a letter to shareholders.

This is the first quarter that Netflix’s new ad-supported service is included in its earnings results. The company launched the cheaper tier in November 2022, but has not disclosed what portion of the new subscriptions are from users who have opted for this service.

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