Netflix co-founder and chair Reed Hastings to leave board

Reed Hastings, the co-founder and chairman of Netflix, is leaving the company’s board when his term expires this summer. Hastings is stepping aside to focus on “philanthropy and other pursuits,” the company said in a letter 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 is up in June, according to the filing.

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

“My real contribution at Netflix wasn’t a single decision,” Hastings continued. “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.”

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

In 1999, when mom-and-pop video rental stores still coated the country, Hastings and Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph launched a subscription DVD-by-mail business for movies. In the coming years, Netflix would help wipe out many of those mom-and-pop stores (as well as mega-rental chain Blockbuster), as its offerings expanded from a disc-delivery service to digital delivery (the company officially retired its disc-delivery service in 2023). Under Hastings’ leadership, Netflix became a pioneer in the streaming industry, inspiring a wave of similar services from the likes of Amazon, HBO, Disney, Hulu, and others.

“Reed built a culture of innovation, integrity and high performance that defines who we are today,” the company said in the earnings report. “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.”

While Hastings heads for the exit, Netflix said Thursday that it is looking to expand into new technological frontiers, including generative AI. The report also mentions the streaming giant’s recent acquisition of InterPositive, Ben Affleck’s AI company.

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