AMAZON has appointed Samir Kumar as its new head for India. Kumar, a 25-year veteran at the company, will take over the role on 1 October, replacing Manish Tiwary, who stepped down last month after eight years at Amazon.
Tiwary left to pursue an external opportunity, according to the company.
Kumar, who was part of the team that launched Amazon India in 2013, will also continue his current responsibilities overseeing Amazon's consumer businesses in the Middle East, South Africa, and Turkey.
The leadership change comes as Amazon looks to grow its presence in India, with plans to invest up to 19.7 billion pounds in the country by 2030.
However, the company faces increasing competition and regulatory challenges.
India's antitrust body recently reported that both Amazon and Flipkart had violated local laws by giving preference to select sellers, prioritising certain listings, and offering steep discounts, which negatively impacted other businesses.
A member of India's ruling party and a major retailers' group have also called on the government to halt the operations of Amazon and Flipkart due to these antitrust violations.
"There have been some rumbles from the ruling politicians around how Amazon is impacting small traders and even consumers, and mistreating its warehouse workers. Samir will have to deal with the regulatory fallout," said Jaspreet Bindra, founder of tech advisory firm Tech Whisperer.
(With inputs from Reuters)
