Amazon India head Manish Tiwary resigns, plans to join another company

Tiwary will continue with Amazon until October to help ensure a smooth transition

Manish Tiwary has resigned as the country head of Amazon India after spending eight and a half years at the e-commerce firm. Tiwary plans to take up a new role at another firm, people close to the development said without disclosing the details. He would remain in Amazon until October, overseeing the company’s festival season, according to sources.

The company said Amit Agarwal, SVP India and Emerging Markets, will remain closely involved with the Amazon India team, guiding its strong bench of leaders to deliver on this opportunity. While Tiwary’s departure was being discussed internally, it was made public on Tuesday through an email sent to the India leadership team by Agarwal, sources indicated. It is learnt that Agarwal’s communication pointed out that Amazon has a ‘’strong leadership bench that is ready to step up’’.

“India is an important priority for Amazon, offering a big opportunity to invent on behalf customers and digitally transform lives and livelihoods,’’ a source said, citing Agarwal’s letter.  

Before joining Amazon in 2016, Tiwary spent over two decades in the fast-moving consumer goods business across various categories and channels in India, the Gulf, and North Africa, mainly with Unilever.

“Manish Tiwary, country manager for Amazon India, has decided to pursue an opportunity outside of the company. Manish’s leadership over eight years has been instrumental in delivering for customers and sellers, making Amazon.in the preferred marketplace in India,” said a company spokesperson.

A computer engineer from BIT-Mesra and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Tiwary was expected to follow his parents, who worked for Tatas. Instead, he took up a job at consumer goods firm Hindustan Unilever in 1995. He stayed there for over two decades.

Since 2013, Amazon, which competes with Walmart-owned Flipkart, Reliance’s JioMart and the Tatas in India, has invested around $6.5 billion in the e-commerce business here.

Amazon has been facing many challenges in the country. Trade bodies perceived Amazon and Flipkart as a threat to local retailers and took the matter to the courts. The Competition Commission of India had reportedly launched an investigation over preferential treatment. Amazon has also been fighting a legal battle with Future Retail to stop the Kishore Biyani-led retailer’s $3.4 billion deal with RIL.