Reed Hastings, the Netflix chair, is leaving the streaming service he co-founded 29 years ago as the company regains its footing after it lost its $72bn deal for Warner Bros Discovery.
In a letter to investors released on Thursday, Netflix said Hastings will not stand for re-election at its annual meeting in June and plans to focus on philanthropy and other pursuits.
The company’s stock dropped about 8% on the news of Hastings’ departure.
“Mr Hastings’ decision to not stand for re-election is not as a result of any disagreement with the company,” Netflix said in an SEC filing on Thursday.
In a statement to Variety, Hastings said Netflix changed his life.
The company has not named a successor.
“My all‑time favorite memory was January 2016, when we enabled nearly the entire planet to enjoy our service,” Hastings, 65, said, giving a “special thanks” to co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, “whose commitment to Netflix’s greatness is so strong that I can now focus on new things”.
Hastings co-founded Netflix 29 years ago in northern California and led it through its pivot from a....
