Reed Hastings is stepping down as co-CEO of Netflix
- Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has stepped down as co-CEO of the company after 25 years.
- Greg Peters, the streaming giant's COO, will take over as co-CEO with Ted Sarandos.
Netflix's co-founder Reed Hastings has stepped down as co-CEO of the media giant after nearly 25 years in the role.
Netflix's COO Greg Peters will step into the co-CEO role, joining Ted Sarandos, who has served as co-CEO since 2020, according to the company. Hastings will stay on as Netflix's executive chairman.
"It was a baptism by fire, given COVID and recent challenges within our business. But they've both managed incredibly well, ensuring Netflix continues to improve and developing a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue and earnings growth," Hastings said of Peters and Sarandos in a blog post announcing the change.
As COO, Peters was tasked with driving Netflix's push into advertising as the company bets on a cheaper ad-supported tier to grow its revenue.
Peters also led Netflix's expansion into Asia in 2015 and the company's push into gaming.
"I feel humbled and privileged to become co-CEO of Netflix. Ted and I have worked together for many years – building tremendous trust and respect for each other. We're also motivated by the same goal: a desire to better serve our members so that we can continue to grow our business," Peters said.
Hastings exits his post as co-chief of Netflix after the company added 7.66 million subscribers in the final quarter of 2022, far more than the 4.57 million that experts anticipated.
In his final year as co-CEO, Hastings oversaw the successful launch of Netflix's new ad-supported tier and the company's latest attempts to crack down on password sharing.