Tony Hsieh, known to be the face of the revolutionary company, Zappos, has died at the age of 46. At this moment, details about his cause of death are unknown but his death was confirmed by his family in a text message to friends and a statement from CEO Zappos.com, Kedar Deshpande
“It is with very heavy hearts that we are sharing some very sad news with all of you, as we have learned that Tony passed away earlier today (11-27-20). Though Tony retired this past summer, we know what a tremendous impact he has had on both Zappos and on Zapponians, as he has dedicated the past 20 years focusing on the success of both the company and our employees.”
Hsieh co-founded Zappos in 1999 and grew it into a huge business before selling it to Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2009. However he remained with the company until his retirement this year.
“The world has lost a tremendous visionary and an incredible human being. We recognize that not only have we lost our inspiring former leader, but many of you have also lost a mentor and a friend. Tony played such an integral part in helping create the thriving Zappos business we have today, along with his passion for helping to support and drive our company culture.” added Kedar Deshpande
Hsieh graduated from Harvard University and joined the company, then known as ShoeSite.com, in 1999. He was known as a serial entrepreneur. Hsieh co-founded and sold an advertising startup called LinkExchange to Microsoft for $265 million before launching Zappos.com
Zappos pioneered free shipping and returns, and it didn’t take long for the concept to take hold as e-commerce took off.
Hsieh created a $350 million initiative in 2009 called the Las Vegas Downtown Project to help turn downtown Las Vegas into a hub for entrepreneurs and innovators.
