Amazon has appointed Samir Kumar as the country manager for India, following the sudden departure of Manish Tiwary. A veteran at the company since 1999, Kumar is set to take charge of Amazon’s India operations starting October 1, as per an update released on Wednesday.
In addition to his new responsibilities in India, Kumar will continue overseeing Amazon’s consumer businesses in the Middle East, South Africa, and Turkey. Tiwary, who had been leading Amazon’s India operations since July 2020, resigned on August 6, reportedly due to disagreements with Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President for Emerging Markets at Amazon.
“Amazon’s 25-year veteran Samir Kumar will oversee Amazon’s India consumer business as Manish Tiwary, current Country Manager for Amazon India, has decided to explore an opportunity outside Amazon,” the update said.
Manish Tiwary was key “in steering Amazon.in to become the de facto starting point for Indians to buy and sell anything online,” said Agarwal, in an internal email.
Agarwal said that “India remains an important priority for Amazon”. “We have a strong local leadership bench and, along with Samir’s experiences across Emerging Markets, I am even more optimistic about our future plans to deliver for customers and the business in India,” Agarwal said.
Samir Kumar who joined Amazon in 1999 was also part of the team that planned and launched ‘Amazon.in’ in 2013. With the new change, Amazon India will follow a dual leadership structure, the company said. (With IANS Inputs)
