Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings is leaving the board

Reed Hastings, co-founder and chairman of Netflix, will leave the company’s board of directors when his term ends this summer. Hastings is stepping aside to focus on “philanthropy and other endeavors,” the company said in a statement. Message to shareholders.

The departure was revealed in the company’s first-quarter earnings report published Thursday. Hastings will officially leave the board when his term ends in June, according to the filing.

“Netflix has changed my life in so many ways, and my favorite memory of all was January 2016, when we enabled almost the entire planet to enjoy our service,” Hastings said in a statement included in the earnings report.

“My true contribution to Netflix wasn’t one decision,” Hastings continued. “The focus has been on member happiness, building a culture that others can inherit and improve upon, and building a company that can be loved by members and wildly successful for generations to come.”

He also thanked the outgoing founder Ted Sarandos, the company’s CEO, and Greg Peters, co-CEO.

In 1999, when family video rental stores still covered the country, Mark Randolph, co-founder of Netflix and Hastings, said Fired DVD-by-mail subscription for movie business. And in the coming years, Netflix will help Erase Many of these mom and pop stores (plus Huge rental chain Blockbuster), as its offerings expand from disc delivery to digital delivery (the company officially discontinues disc delivery in 2023). Under Hastings’ leadership, Netflix has become a pioneer in the streaming industry, inspiring a wave of similar services from the likes of Amazon, HBO, Disney, Hulu and others.

“Reed has built the culture of innovation, integrity and high performance that defines us today,” the company said in the earnings report. “His vision and leadership pioneered how we entertain the world, and his legacy and impact are felt not only on all of us at Netflix, but on audiences around the world.”

As Hastings heads toward an exit, Netflix said Thursday it is looking to expand into new technological frontiers, including generative artificial intelligence. The report also points out the streaming giant’s latest work Acquisition of InterPositive, Ben Affleck’s artificial intelligence company.

The company reported revenue of $12.25 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 16.2% from the same period last year. Netflix’s net income rose nearly 83% to $5.28 billion.