Seattle, Washington - The founder of Amazon is stepping down from his role as the company's CEO and handing the title over to a top internal executive.

Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, who has been running and expanding the company since then. That is, until now.

On Tuesday, Bezos shared his plans of transitioning into a new role within Amazon while promoting Andy Jassy, one of the company's top cloud executives, to the role of CEO. As for Bezos, he'll be moving into a less hands-on role serving as executive chairman on Amazon's board.

In a letter penned to Amazon employees, Bezos explained that he would be refocusing his attention to other matters within the company, saying "As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions."

The announcement came alongside Amazon's earnings report, sharing the company had its first $100 billion quarter, a huge feat even for a company of its stature.

To those on the outskirts of happenings at the company, this succession might be a shock. But to the people on the inside, it's been a plan long in the making.

In an interview with Business Insider from 2014, Henry Blodget asked Bezos if there was a succession plan in place, to which Bezos answered "yeah, there is a succession plan for me, and for all our senior executives."

Jassy, the company's newly appointed CEO, has been with Amazon since 1997 and is someone Bezos believes will take on his new role with professionalism and respect, telling employees, "He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence."

The transfer of titles will take place in Q3 of the new year, giving teams time to adjust to the transition.