Etsy India appoints former Amazon executive Pankaj Jathar as VP, country head

US-based e-commerce giant Etsy Inc., on August 3, appointed Pankaj Jathar, a former top executive of Amazon, as the Vice President and Country Head for its India operations.

The company said Jathar will lead Etsy’s India business to scale its marketplace capabilities further and determine additional growth opportunities in the country, in a statement. Jathar will also focus on connecting sellers in the creative community to millions of buyers around the world through the Etsy marketplace.

Etsy also said that the company has been investing in India, which is one of its seven core markets.

“I have long been impressed by Etsy’s ability to empower entrepreneurs. They’ve created economic opportunities for millions of people around the world, and I am thrilled to be able to contribute to this mission and support Indian creators in harnessing their full potential,” said Jathar.

Previously, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Prione, a joint venture between Amazon and private equity (PE) fund, Catamaran, Jathar has over two decades of experience across global information technology (IT) services and e-commerce firms. Notably, the PE fund - Cataraman is floated by Infosys' founder and chairman emeritus, N R Narayana Murthy, and headed by Arjun R Narayanswamy.

Jathar has led multiple functions at Amazon from 2011 to 2017, and interestingly was also a member of the launch team for Amazon's India business.

“I am confident that Pankaj’s leadership and expertise will steer us in the right direction. We believe he is a transformational business leader with experience leading cross-functional organizations, developing best-in-class teams, and delivering integrated solutions to achieve business goals,” said Ryan Scott, Chief Marketing Officer, Etsy Inc.

Earlier, Jathar spent more than five years at the IT firm Accenture. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and an engineering degree from Bharati Vidyapeeth University.