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2021 was a year of change for many, and in the tech world it was no different. In this yearly roundup, we take a look at some of the most exciting and impactful executive moves that shook up the tech industry over the past year.

Jeff Bezos stepped back, and Andy Jassy took over

In February 2021, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that he would step away from the company he founded to refocus his time on other pursuits, like his Blue Origin space exploration company. A few months later, the move was made official when AWS CEO Andy Jassy took over the top role. Since his ascent to the top, Jassy has reshaped the company’s most influential leadership body, called the “S-team.” However, Bezos’s decision to pick Jassy as Amazon’s top boss hasn’t been viewed positively by everyone, and the company has since hemorrhaged executive talent.

Jack Dorsey named Agrawal as Twitter’s next CEO

Jack Dorsey made waves by quitting the CEO job at Twitter for the second time this past November. Dorsey, who founded the social media giant in 2006, picked Twitter CTO Parag Agrawal as his successor. At the time, he stated, “Parag has been behind every critical decision that has helped turn this company around. He is curious, probing, rational, creative, self-aware, and humble. He leads with heart and soul, and is someone I learn from daily. My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep.” Dorsey made the change amid increased international scrutiny around Twitter and the social media industry’s alleged status as a source for misinformation.

ByteDance’s Chairman stepped down

ByteDance’s co-founder Yiming Zhang made headlines twice this year, once for renouncing his role as the CEO of one of China’s most valuable startups in May and again for ditching his role as the company’s Chairman in November. The moves have left Zhang’s college roommate and ByteDance co-founder Liang Rubo as the new Chairman and CEO of TikTok’s parent company. Zhang initially stated that he stepped down as because he felt he didn’t have some of the skills to be an effective CEO as the company grew, but the move was closely followed by the revelation that ByteDance was included on a Chinese government list of 105 tech companies that allegedly engaged in the improper collection and use of data.

Qualcomm found its new CEO

Qualcomm’s CEO transition, announced on January 5, was made official on June 30 and saw Cristiano Amon take over the mantle of CEO from Steve Mollenkopf. The changeup at the semiconductor designer and manufacturer was made amid the company’s continued push to lead the 5G chip market. Amon also took over as the world was rocked by a semiconductor shortage caused by disrupted supply chains, forcing manufacturers to delay production, cut features, or even shut down plants entirely. The continued 5G rollout and chip shortage make Amon an increasingly important power player in the tech world as we enter 2022.

Facebook lost its revenue chief, spurring an exodus

In March, Facebook (now Meta) Chief Revenue Officer David Fischer announced he decided to part ways with the company after over a decade of service. Facebook stated that it wouldn’t fill Fischer’s role and instead created a Chief Business Officer position. In June, Facebook installed VP of Global Partnerships, Business, and Corporate Development Marne Levine as its first business chief, spurring an exodus of top marketing and revenue executives, including its ads boss, Carolyn Everson. She left to become Instacart’s President, a role she swiftly .

Intel picked its new CEO

Intel is another major chip producer that experienced a leadership change at the very top of its org chart. Pat Gelsinger officially took over as Intel’s CEO after Robert Swan stepped down on February 15. Gelsinger is a 40-year tech industry veteran and has been tasked with leading the Silicon Valley staple through a transformation from a CPU company to a multi-architecture XPU firm. Gelsinger also has taken over the helm when Intel is under increased pressure from long-time rivals and former clients, like Apple, who are beginning to produce their own silicon.

Instacart got a new CEO as it heads for an IPO

Fidji Simo was another major exit from Facebook following David Fischer’s decision to step down. In July, Simo took over as Instacart’s CEO, giving the grocery delivery startup a new leader with direct experience shepherding a company through the private to public transition. Alongside Simo, Instacart onboarded a slew of top executives to help manage its explosive growth and prepare for its IPO. However, Instacart announced in November that it would its IPO until 2022 to continue to focus on growth.

Facebook named a new CTO to guide its metaverse metamorphosis

Ahead of Facebook’s rebrand to Meta, the company named company veteran Andrew “Boz” Bosworth as its new CTO. Bosworth, who will officially take over from Mike Schroepfer in 2022, is the long-time leader of Facebook Facebook Reality Labs, meaning he leads the company’s Oculus VR headset unit and oversaw the newly released smart glasses that Facebook developed with Ray-Ban. When Bosworth officially takes over as CTO, he will continue to lead Facebook Reality Labs and take on the additional responsibility of leading the social media titan’s tech teams as they build the metaverse.

Microsoft’s CEO Takes on Chairman Role

Satya Nadella received a massive vote of confidence from Microsoft’s board of directors and was unanimously elected as the company’s Board Chair in addition to his current role as the Seattle-based tech titan’s CEO. Nadella’s new role allows him to set agendas, elevate new strategic opportunities, and identify risks and mitigation approaches for the board’s review. It is also the second significant change to its board in recent memory. In 2020, Bill Gates stepped away from his board role amid an investigation into an alleged affair he had with an employee.

Lordstown’s CEO and CTO Departed Amid a Scandal

This past June, Lordstown Motors was thrown into chaos when a scandal around inaccurate preorder numbers forced the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s CEO, Steve Burns, and CFO, Julio Rodriguez, to step down. Unfortunately, the scandal came at the worst possible time for the company. It was nearing production for its first EV and led to a financial crisis that forced it to sell its flagship production facility to Foxconn to stay afloat. In August, the company eventually named Daniel Ninivaggi as its new CEO, and in October, it picked Adam Kroll as its new CFO