Amazon founder Jeff Bezos set to depart as CEO on July 5

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said on Wednesday he will hand over operational control to his successor on July 5, leaving as the e-commerce giant flexes its muscles in television and cloud.

Bezos is ceding his chief executive role to Andy Jassy, head of Amazon Web Services, the lucrative cloud computing unit at the Seattle-based firm. Bezos will take the role of executive chair.

Bezos announced his departure date at an annual shareholders meeting, saying it has "sentimental" value to him because it will be the 27th anniversary of Amazon officially becoming a corporation.

Bezos assured investors that Jassy is well known in the company, having been at Amazon almost as long as Bezos. "He is going to be an exceptional leader, and he has all my confidence," Bezos said of Jassy.

The executive transition comes with Amazon having attained tremendous power in online commerce as well as cloud computing, where it competes with Google and Microsoft.

Amazon has been among technology firms that have flourished as the coronavirus pandemic accelerated an online trend for work, play and education.

The company's dominance in online commerce has also put it in the crosshairs of critics and regulators worried it may be abusing its power.

Amazon on Wednesday announced a deal to buy the storied MGM studios for US$8.45 billion, giving the US tech giant a vast content library to further its ambitions in streaming.

The move comes with Amazon experiencing surging growth in online retail and cloud computing, while making a push into entertainment as more consumers turn to streaming media.