Amazon appoints Samir Kumar as India operations head

NEW DELHI: E-commerce giant Amazon on Wednesday appointed Samir Kumar as the country manager for India after the abrupt exit of Manish Tiwary.

Kumar, an Amazon veteran since 1999, is expected to assume operational responsibilities for India starting October 1, according to a company update today.

"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.

Tiwary, who has been leading India operations since July 2020, resigned on August 6 reportedly after several differences with Amit Agarwal, Amazon's senior Vice President for Emerging Markets.

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.

The new post will be an added responsibility for Kumar, who will also continue to lead Amazon's consumer businesses in the Middle East, South Africa, and Turkey.

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.

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.

"...the current Amazon.in the leadership team of Saurabh Srivastava (Categories), Harsh Goyal (Everyday Essentials), Amit Nanda (Marketplace), and Aastha Jain (Growth Initiatives) will now report to Samir. Kishore Thota (Emerging Markets Shopping Experience) will report to Amit directly," as per the company update.