Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings will soon leave the company he helped turn from a DVD rental business into a streaming TV giant.
Hastings won’t seek reelection to Netflix’s board and will split from the company in June, Netflix said on Thursday as it shared its first-quarter earnings report.
Hastings, who was Netflix’s CEO until 2023, will focus on “philanthropy and other pursuits,” the company said. The Netflix cofounder’s philanthropy includes giving $1.1 billion to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a large Bay Area charity, and helping launch the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity at Bowdoin College.
Hastings has also been heavily involved in developing the Utah ski resort Powder Mountain.
Forbes estimates Hastings’ net worth at $5.8 billion.
“Reed built a culture of innovation, integrity and high performance that defines who we are today,” Netflix said in its first-quarter shareholder letter. “His vision and leadership pioneered how the world is entertained, and his legacy and impact are not only felt by all of us at Netflix, but by audiences around the world.”
In the shareholder letter, Hastings, who cofounded the company in 1997, said his “real contribution at Netflix wasn’t a single decision.”
“It was 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,” Hastings said in the letter.
Hastings gave a shout-out to his successors, co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos, “whose commitment to Netflix’s greatness is so strong that I can now focus on new things.”
Peters said in the shareholder letter that “Reed will always be Netflix’s founder and biggest champion,” adding that “his vision, entrepreneurship, and steadfast commitment to our values have shaped every stage of our journey and continue to shape how Ted and I lead Netflix today.”
Sarandos said that Hastings “has modeled for Greg and me a selfless, disciplined leadership style that will continue to shape how we lead Netflix in the exciting times ahead.”
Netflix shares fell over 9.1% in after-hours trading following its first-quarter earnings report. Its second-quarter guidance came in lower than some investors anticipated.
