Netflix, Inc.
Leadership History
4 leaders · 1999 to present
Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters is the CEO of Netflix, in the role since 2020. The first chief executive was Reed Hastings, from 1999.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Hoag | Chairman of the Board | 2026 | Present | < 1 |
| Greg Peters | Co-CEO | 2023 | Present | 3 |
| Ted Sarandos | Co-CEO | 2020 | Present | 6 |
| Reed Hastings | Co-founder; CEO (1999-2023); Chairman (2023-2026) | 1999 | 2026 | 27 |
Netflix, Inc. is the largest paid subscription streaming service in the world, based in Los Gatos, California, and listed on Nasdaq as NFLX. It began as a DVD-by-mail service in 1997, launched streaming in 2007, began commissioning originals with House of Cards in 2013, and went near-global in 2016. Today it combines a studio, a technology company and an advertising platform, led by co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, with about 16,000 full-time employees at the end of 2025. The streaming entertainment revolutionary was founded in August 1997 in Scotts Valley, California, by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, transitioning from a DVD-by-mail service into a global cultural sovereign with over 300 million paid subscribers.
Chairman of the Board
2026 – Present
0 years (current)
Jay Hoag, co-founder of Technology Crossover Ventures, has been a Netflix director since 1999 and served as lead independent director before the board named him chairman effective at the June 2026 annual meeting.
Hoag provides governance continuity after Reed Hastings' departure from the board.
Co-CEO
2023 – Present
3 years (current)
Greg Peters has been central to Netflix's product, pricing, international and monetization strategy. He helped scale the service across global markets and introduced lower-cost mobile plans in price-sensitive regions. As co-CEO since January 2023, he oversaw paid sharing, the build-out of Netflix Ads Suite, and plan restructuring. Netflix reached $45.2B in FY2025 revenue with a 29.5% operating margin during this period.
Peters leads product, technology, pricing and the advertising business. He drove paid sharing and the in-house ad tech platform that replaced Microsoft as the main ad server.
Co-CEO
2020 – Present
6 years (current)
Ted Sarandos shaped the content era of Netflix after joining in 2000, first by using DVD viewing data to rethink programming demand and later by pushing Netflix into original production. He backed House of Cards in 2013, helped normalize full-season releases, and expanded investment into global originals across Korea, Spain, India, Latin America, Europe, and other markets. As co-CEO, his decisions center on slate discipline, franchise development, live events, awards credibility, and balancing global hits with local production. The measurable outcome is Netflix's transformation from a distributor of licensed programming into a studio-scale buyer and owner of content that can launch globally on the same platform.
Sarandos built Netflix's original-content engine, from House of Cards to Squid Game, and leads content, studio operations and creative relationships. He has been co-CEO since July 2020.
Co-founder; CEO (1999-2023); Chairman (2023-2026)
1999 – 2026
27 years
Reed Hastings led Netflix from the 1999 flat-fee DVD subscription through the 2007 streaming launch, the 2013 move into originals and the 2016 global rollout. He also made the 2011 Qwikster mistake and reversed it within weeks. He became executive chairman in January 2023 and left the board at the June 2026 annual meeting to focus on philanthropy.
Hastings set the company's culture of freedom and responsibility and its habit of cannibalizing its own business before rivals could. Under his tenure revenue grew from a startup base to $31.6B in 2022.
Netflix's main challenges are competition for screen time from YouTube, TikTok and gaming, rising costs for sports and premium content, and the need to prove its ad business can scale. Revenue growth is slowing from 16% in 2025 toward the low teens, and Q3 2026 guidance of $12.86B came in below analyst expectations. The company also faces local content quotas, digital service taxes and privacy rules in many of its 190+ markets, and its stock has traded roughly flat since 2021 despite much higher profits.
Key CEOs include co-founder Marc Randolph (1997-1999; operational inception and e-commerce launch), co-founder Reed Hastings (1999-2023; DVD-to-streaming pivot, original content revolution, global expansion), and current Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters (2023-present; ad tier, paid sharing, live events).
Reed Hastings led Netflix through three historic transformations: replacing per-DVD rental fees with a flat monthly subscription (1999), launching digital video streaming (2007), and creating proprietary original content (2013 with House of Cards), establishing Netflix as a global entertainment giant.
In 2011, Netflix unbundled its DVD-by-mail and streaming services, proposing a separate brand called 'Qwikster', which sparked large subscriber outrage and lost 800,000 customers; Hastings publicly apologized, cancelled Qwikster, and focused entirely on building an exceptional streaming library.
Ted Sarandos joined Netflix in 2000 and later became Chief Content Officer. He pushed Netflix into originals, including the 2011 commitment to two seasons of House of Cards, which premiered in 2013.
As Chief Product Officer and COO, Greg Peters led engineering partnerships with smart TV manufacturers and mobile carriers worldwide, oversaw the international rollout across 130 countries in 2016, and built the architecture for Netflix's ad-supported tier.
In January 2023, Reed Hastings became executive chairman and Greg Peters joined Ted Sarandos as co-CEO. Hastings left the board in June 2026, and Jay Hoag became chairman.
Spencer Neumann serves as Chief Financial Officer of Netflix, having joined from Activision Blizzard in 2019. Neumann oversees global financial planning, content budget discipline, share repurchase execution, and capital allocation.
Created by Reed Hastings and former Chief Talent Officer Patty McCord, the 'Netflix Culture Deck' (Freedom and Responsibility) emphasizes high talent density, context over control, transparent feedback, paying top-of-market compensation, and the 'Keeper Test' for managing performance.
In January 2023, founder Reed Hastings transitioned to Executive Chairman, appointing Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters as Co-CEOs. Sarandos oversees content creative direction, Hollywood studio relationships, and talent, while Peters manages technology infrastructure, ad-tier product development, gaming, and business operations.
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