Tony Hsieh, former 'visionary' CEO of Zappos, dies at 46

Amazon purchased the executive's online shoe company for $1.2bn in 2009 and Mr Hsieh remained chief executive for 20 years

A 2013 photo of Tony Hsieh speaking at a Grand Rapids Economic Club luncheon in Grand Rapids,Michigan. Mr Hsieh, who recently retired from Zappos after 20 years leading the company and worked to revitShow more

Tony Hsieh, the retired CEO of Zappos.com who revolutionised the online shoe industry and gained notoriety for his company’s unique corporate culture, has died. He was 46.

The cause of Mr Hsieh’s death wasn’t released. Puoy Premsrirut, a lawyer for Mr Hsieh, told news outlets that Mr Hsieh had been injured in a house fire while visiting Connecticut. He was with family there when he died Friday night, KLAS-TV reported.

A November 18 house fire in which Hsieh is believed to have been injured remains under investigation, according to The Hartford Courant, which cited the New London, Connecticut, fire chief and reported the home that burned is owned by a long-time Zappos employee.

A Harvard graduate, Mr Hsieh gained success in the dot com era. He joined Zappos in 1999 when it was called ShoeSite.com and led it for two decades. Amazon purchased the company for $1.2 billion in 2009 and Mr Hsieh remained as chief executive until stepping down in August.

Amazon’s purchase of the company signaled Jeff Bezos was both impressed and threatened with Zappos’ fast delivery of online orders and customer service reputation. Mr Hsieh’s success selling shoes online stood out because it was a product people traditionally like to feel on their feet before buying.

“The world lost you way too soon,” Mr Bezos said Saturday on Instagram. “Your curiosity, vision, and relentless focus on customers leave an indelible mark.”

Mr Hsieh was a fixture in the tech speaker circuit and espoused his company’s commitment to “holocracy,” a decentralised management style where decision-making was spread throughout the organisation without traditional hierarchy.

He stood out as a non-traditionalist even in an industry known for breaking tradition. He lived in a trailer park in downtown Las Vegas that attracted creative people working on the strip. They’d eat communal meals by a big fire pit and a pet alpaca roamed the park. Mr Hsieh would make random appearances in the park to play a card game with visitors that forced them to pick priorities in their lives.

Tributes swirled on social media from the tech industry, Las Vegas – where the company was headquartered – and from President Trump’s daughter. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak thanked him for helping transform the city, while Ivanka Trump said Mr Hsieh’s originality challenged her to “reject conformity.”