Reed Hastings to Leave Netflix Board After 29 Years

Netflix co-founder and Chairman Reed Hastings will step down from the board at the company's June annual meeting after 29 years, the streaming giant disclosed in its first-quarter 2026 earnings report on April 16.

A Long Goodbye

Hastings said he plans to focus on philanthropy and personal interests after a transition that has been gradual. He handed co-CEO duties to Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos in 2023 and has served as chairman since, allowing the new operating leadership to consolidate decision-making.

What He Built

Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 as a DVD-by-mail service and steered it through a controversial pivot to streaming, an even more contested expansion into original content and a recent revival driven by ad-supported tiers and password-sharing crackdowns. The company is now valued well above its DVD-era peak.

Board Continuity

Netflix did not name a successor for the chairman role at the time of the disclosure. Investors will scrutinize the pick for clues on whether the company favors a deeper push into live programming and gaming or a more disciplined return to its original-content roots after a year of mixed strategy signals.