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Netflix announced on January 19, 2023, that co-founder Reed Hastings had stepped down as co-CEO and president. The change was effective January 13. Hastings became executive chairman of Netflix’s board, while then-chief operating officer Greg Peters was promoted to co-CEO alongside Ted Sarandos. Hastings did not leave Netflix in this transition.
What changed at Netflix
The announcement made three related changes. Hastings relinquished the operating posts of co-CEO and president; he moved into the executive-chairman role; and Peters joined Sarandos as Netflix’s second co-CEO. Netflix’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says Hastings remained a Netflix employee in his new role (SEC Form 8-K).
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That makes “Hastings left Netflix” an inaccurate description of the January 2023 event. He ended his day-to-day CEO tenure but remained connected to the company through its board.
January 13 versus January 19
The dates refer to different parts of the same transition:
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| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| January 13, 2023 | The leadership changes became effective, according to Netflix’s SEC filing. |
| January 19, 2023 | Netflix announced the changes publicly in its shareholder communication and company news release. |
The six-day difference is a reporting and corporate-record distinction, not a contradiction.
Who led Netflix after Hastings?
Ted Sarandos
Sarandos had already been co-CEO since July 2020. His background in content and entertainment gave the leadership team continuity on Netflix’s programming and studio operations. The 2023 announcement did not make him sole CEO; it retained the co-CEO structure.
Rank #2
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Greg Peters
Peters moved from chief operating officer to co-CEO and also joined Netflix’s board. His remit brought technology, product and operating experience into the top executive role. Netflix described his promotion as part of a succession plan that had been developing over several years (Netflix announcement).
Reed Hastings
Hastings remained executive chairman rather than a CEO. An executive chairman generally focuses on board leadership and high-level oversight, while the CEOs run the company’s operations. The titles are not interchangeable, and the role does not automatically establish a fixed hierarchy over the CEOs.
Rank #3
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- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
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A succession process, not a sudden replacement
Netflix said its board had discussed succession for years. Hastings said he had increasingly delegated management responsibilities to Sarandos and Peters during the preceding two and a half years. Sarandos’s elevation in 2020 was an earlier step in that process; Peters’s promotion completed the planned handover of day-to-day leadership.
The company presented the decision as confidence in two executives with complementary skills, not as a forced departure, health-related decision or personal dispute. The primary announcement does not attribute the change to a single quarter’s results.
Rank #4
- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
Why keep two CEOs?
Netflix’s stated rationale was a division of strengths: Sarandos’s entertainment and content expertise paired with Peters’s technology, product and operating background. Its 2023 proxy called the arrangement unconventional but said it provided broad expertise and an effective leadership structure (Netflix 2023 proxy statement).
A dual-CEO system can preserve continuity during succession and give each leader a defined area of expertise. It can also raise governance questions, including who has final accountability, whether decisions may take longer, and how disagreements would be resolved. Those are general trade-offs, not evidence that Netflix’s model failed or succeeded.
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- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
Where the change fit Netflix’s business situation
The announcement accompanied Netflix’s fourth-quarter 2022 shareholder communication. At the time, the streaming company was dealing with slower growth and stronger competition while pursuing new revenue initiatives, including advertising and tighter controls on account sharing. Those pressures formed the business context, but Netflix characterized Hastings’s move as long-planned succession rather than a crisis-driven ouster. Contemporary coverage likewise treated the leadership announcement as a transition rather than proof that one specific result caused Hastings to step down (TechCrunch).
Hastings’s place in Netflix history
Hastings is more precisely described as a Netflix co-founder in the company’s leadership and regulatory materials. He helped guide the business from DVD rental into streaming and then into a global entertainment company. January 2023 ended his long period as an operating chief, but not his immediate relationship with Netflix.
For later status, Netflix’s 2026 proxy identifies Hastings as chairman of the board (Netflix 2026 proxy statement). That later filing should be used for his status at that date rather than treating the 2023 announcement as a current leadership list.
Quick Recap
The timeline at a glance
| Period | Leadership development |
|---|---|
| July 2020 | Ted Sarandos became co-CEO alongside Hastings. |
| 2020–2022 | Hastings said management responsibilities increasingly shifted to Sarandos and Peters. |
| January 13, 2023 | Hastings’s resignation as co-CEO and president, his executive-chairman appointment and Peters’s co-CEO promotion took effect. |
| January 19, 2023 | Netflix made the transition public. |
What the wording means
- Accurate: Hastings stepped down as co-CEO and president.
- Accurate: Hastings became executive chairman.
- Accurate: Peters became co-CEO alongside Sarandos.
- Misleading without qualification: Hastings retired, left Netflix, or was simply replaced by Peters.
- Incorrect: Netflix abandoned its co-CEO model or made Sarandos the sole CEO.
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