Netflix founder Reed Hastings said Thursday he would step down from serving as co-CEO of the streaming giant after the company survived a “tough year” of subscription ups and downs and falling short of adjusted earnings expectations in the final quarter.
Hastings, who will now serve as the company’s executive chairman, passed the baton to chief operating officer Greg Peters.
Peters is joining Ted Sarandos, the current Netflix CEO. Hastings promoted Peters in July 2020 to this position and began to share management responsibilities with Peters over the past two years.
“It was a baptism by fire, given COVID and recent challenges within our business,” Hastings wrote. “But they’ve both managed incredibly well, ensuring Netflix continues to improve and developing a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue and earnings growth.”
“So the board and I believe it’s the right time to complete my succession,” he added.
Hastings’ announcement comes simultaneously with Netflix’s fourth quarter financial results after the bell on Thursday. Yahoo Finance also showed mixed subscriber growth of 7.66 million, against 4.5 million forecasts.
