Daily US Times: Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of the “visionary” developer of online shoe and clothing retailer Zappos.com, has died after a house fire in the US state of Connecticut.
The 46-year-old Mr Hsieh had been on a family visit at the time, only recently retired after 20 years leading Zappos. Amazon acquired the company for more than $1bn.
He also played a major role in the restoration of central Las Vegas.
Tributes poured in on social media after the news came out. Zappos said in a statement that the world had “lost a tremendous visionary”.
Tony Hsieh also wrote the book Delivering Happiness, which set out his philosophy of focusing on both employee and customer care.
DTP Companies, the company Mr Hsieh invested in to transform downtown Las Vegas, said in a statement that he was with his family when he died on Friday. Details of his injuries and the cause of death have not been published yet.
The statement said: “Tony’s kindness and generosity touched the lives of everyone around him, and forever brightened the world.”
In 2009, Amazon acquired Zappos but Tony Hsieh stayed on as boss, saying: “We think of Amazon as a giant consulting company that we can hire if we want.”
Kedar Deshpande, Current Zappos chief executive officer, said Tony Hsieh’s “spirit will forever be a part of Zappos”.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal said the visioary entrepreneur had pumped a fortune into the once-neglected central Las Vegas and became the face of its revitalisation.
His “Downtown Project” helped fund start-ups, restaurants and other ventures.
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