Netflix co-founder and current chairman Reed Hastings is leaving the streaming company’s board in June to focus on “his philanthropy and other work,” according to a shareholder letter released with Netflix’s first-quarter earnings. Hastings has served as Chairman of the Board of Netflix through 2023, a role he assumed after stepping down as co-CEO and promoting Greg Peters as his replacement.
“Netflix changed my life in so many ways, and my all-time favorite memory was January 2016, when we enabled almost the entire planet to enjoy our service,” Hastings said in a statement. “My real contribution to Netflix wasn’t a single decision; it was a focus on member happiness, building a culture that others could inherit and improve, and building a company that is beloved by members and extremely successful for generations to come. Special thanks to Greg and Ted, whose commitment to the greatness of Netflix is so strong that I can now focus on new things.”
Hastings founded Netflix in 1997 as a DVD-by-mail rental service with his co-founder and the company’s first CEO, Mark Randolph. In 1999, Hastings became CEO, and ultimately led the company through its transformation into a streaming service in 2007. Netflix began producing its own television series and films in 2013, and in 2020, the company’s board named Ted Sarandos as co-CEO with Hasting to oversee its growing production business. Hastings stepped down as co-CEO in 2023 to become executive chairman of Netflix, as then-COO Greg Peters was promoted to co-CEO. Among his other contributions, Hasting is also the architect of Netflix’s infamous “Culture Memo”, which codified the company’s high-performance culture.
Although he will no longer be on the board of Netflix, Hastings still has a seat on the boards of AI startup Anthropic and media and financial software company Bloomberg. Netflix, for its part, is continuing to expand outside the television and film business Hastings helped create by offering a selection of curated party games, video podcasts and a growing library of live sports.
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