A seasoned executive at Amazon, Vaishali Kasture, has stepped down from her position as the interim head of AWS India and South Asia. This departure marks the second major exit in less than a year for the technology giant in this crucial region.
Key Takeaway
Amazon faces another setback in India as Vaishali Kasture, the interim head of AWS India and South Asia, steps down. This departure, following the abrupt exit of her predecessor, Puneet Chandok, poses challenges to Amazon’s cloud business in one of its key markets.
A Key Market for Amazon’s AWS
Amazon regards India as a significant market for its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS). With fierce competition, AWS has aggressively pursued hundreds of thousands of companies in the country and has successfully onboarded multiple government organizations.
In May of this year, Amazon declared its intention to invest an astounding $12.7 billion in its cloud business in India by 2030. This investment exceeds that of any of its rivals. To put this into perspective, IDC estimates that the overall India public cloud services market will only reach $13 billion by 2026.
Executive Shakeup
Kasture, who had been with Amazon for five years, assumed the role of interim leader of commercial business at AWS India and South Asia in June 2021. Prior to this, Puneet Chandok held the position but abruptly left the company to join Microsoft India.
While Kasture’s reasons for leaving remain unknown, just two weeks prior to her departure, she expressed great enthusiasm and optimism for the growth and momentum of Amazon Web Services in India. In a LinkedIn post, she highlighted the company’s plans to invest more than $16.4 billion by 2030 and its commitment to training over 4 million people in India through various education and skill development programs.
Amazon is yet to respond to inquiries regarding Kasture’s resignation. As the company strives to maintain its foothold and expand its cloud services in India, the departure of top executives raises questions about the stability and direction of its operations in the region.
