Downtown Las Vegas fixture Tony Hsieh leaves Zappos

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, attends a groundbreaking ceremony for Fremont9, a new apartment complex at East Fremont and Ninth streets, on Monday, May 16, 2016, in downtown Las Vegas.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has stepped down, the Las Vegas-based online retail giant announced Monday.

A company spokeswoman said Zappos chief operating officer Kedar Deshpande stepped into the CEO role effective Monday.

“We want to thank Tony for his 20 years of work on behalf of Zappos customers, and we wish him well in his retirement,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Shortly after the online shoe and apparel retailer was founded in 1999, Hsieh — already an established businessman after founding and later selling an online advertising platform — started as CEO of Zappos.

The company was later sold to Amazon.

In 2013, Zappos moved its headquarters to downtown Las Vegas with Hsieh investing millions from his personal fortune in an effort to turn an area north of the Strip into a refurbished tech hub.

Seth Ravin, CEO of Las Vegas-based tech firm Rimini Street, said Hsieh has been "a visionary leader and innovator in the technology and online retail sectors, and a legend in the Las Vegas business community."

"He was never afraid to take risks, experiment with different models and make bold decisions — and see which ones worked. He has invested his time, energy and creativity into the Las Vegas community, and we all look forward to seeing Tony's next act," Ravin said.

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