Netflix chairman and co-founder to step down from board in June
By Liam Reilly, CNN
(CNN) — Netflix co-founder and executive chairman Reed Hastings will not seek re-election to the company’s board of directors once his term expires in June, the company announced on Thursday.
Hastings’ decision, announced in Netflix’s first-quarter earnings results, comes less than three years after he stepped down as co-CEO and became the board’s executive chairman. Ted Sarandos, Hastings’ co-CEO, has since split the job with Greg Peters.
Hastings called his contribution to Netflix a focus on “member joy, building a culture that others could inherit and improve, and building a company that could be both beloved by members and wildly successful for generations to come.” The co-founder will “focus on his philanthropy and other pursuits,” according to Netflix.
Sarandos and Peters both praised Hastings in statements. “Reed will always be Netflix’s founder and biggest champion—he is a part of our DNA,” Peters said.
The Netflix co-founder’s exit comes less than two months after the company’s shocking decision to exit the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, leaving Paramount to acquire the entertainment giant. (WBD is CNN’s parent company.)
Hastings founded Netflix in 1997, and the company has defined how the world consumes entertainment, first with its DVD-by-mail business model and, years later, with its streaming platform.
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