Amazon names Samir Kumar to lead India operations as its country manager

E-commerce giant Amazon on Wednesday announced that Samir Kumar will take on the responsibility to lead India as its country manager, following the resignation of Manish Tiwary.

According to a leadership update by the company, Kumar is working closely with Manish Tiwary on the transition, and will assume operational responsibilities for India starting October 1.

"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.

Amit Agarwal, Amazon's senior Vice President for Emerging Markets, in an internal email, announced that Kumar will take on the responsibility to lead India as its Country Manager, in addition to his current charter of leading consumer businesses in the Middle East, South Africa and Turkey.

Kumar, who joined Amazon in 1999, was a part of the original team that planned and launched Amazon.In in 2013.

With this change, the current Amazon.In leadership team of Saurabh Srivastava (Categories), Harsh Goyal (Everyday Essentials), Amit Nanda (Marketplace), and Aastha Jain (Growth Initiatives) will now report to Kumar.

Kishore Thota (Emerging Markets Shopping Experience) will report to Agarwal directly.

"India remains an important priority for Amazon, and I am super excited about the opportunity ahead as we continue to transform lives and livelihoods. 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.

Agarwal also expressed appreciation for Tiwary's leadership "in steering Amazon.In to become the de facto starting point for Indians to buy and sell anything online" and wished him the best for future endeavours.