Former Amazon Executive David Risher will soon take over the reins at Lyft, after the company announced earlier this week that its cofounders Logan Green, CEO, and John Zimmer, company president, would be stepping down. 

Starting June 30 Green will shift to chairman of the board while Zimmer will become vice chair, CNBC reported. Risher is expected to become the ride-sharing company's new CEO on Monday, April 17. 

“I am honored to step into the CEO role at such an important moment in the company’s history, and I'm prepared to take this business to new levels of success,” Risher told CNBC.

After the announcement was made public, shares in Lyft rose about 5% in after-hours trading. According to CNBC, Green and Zimmer founded the company 11 years ago and took it public in 2019, but its shares have been on the decline and dropped by more than 70% in the past years. 

Risher served as a top lieutenant for Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and was the first vice president of product and store development for the company when he started working there in 1997. He later became the senior vice president of marketing and merchandising before his departure 21 years ago. According to CNBC, he served on Lyft's board for the past two years. Because of his experience at Amazon, Risher has the ability to help Lyft expand. 

The article pointed out that Risher's appointment comes at a critical time for Lyft, which was hit hard by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Lyft and other similar ride-sharing companies are expected to see a surge in demand now that more people are vaccinated against the virus and pandemic-related restrictions have been relaxed.

Lyft has tested areas beyond ride-sharing, including bike and scooter rentals, and has also partnered with the self-driving car startup Aptiv for a pilot program in Las Vegas.