Zappos founder Tony Hsieh died from fire at home of rumored girlfriend: report
Hsieh was pulled out of a shed unresponsive on Nov. 18 and died nine days later
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Connecticut home where former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh was trapped in a fire reportedly belonged to his rumored girlfriend, a longtime employee of the shoe e-tailer and a prominent cellist.
Hsieh, 46, was overcome by smoke inside a shed attached to a $1.3 million home in New London that he’d purchased in August for Rachael Brown, according to Fox 61.
Brown is said to have been Hsieh’s girlfriend — and one of his closest confidantes as a high-ranking Zappos employee, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She was recruited to the company when it moved from San Francisco to Las Vegas in 2004 — five years after it first launched — and headed its first training team, the outlet said.
The Zappos website credits Brown as one of the “women who’ve changed Zappos history,” saying she was tapped by Hsieh to “lead a team to teach all employees the company culture, in addition to answering phones.”
“They were trusting me to teach culture before we had core values. If someone was a culture fit, I was to help them succeed,” she said in the mini-profile.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brown left the training team in 2010 and then oversaw the production of Zappos’ quarterly all-hands meetings, the company said.
Originally from Niantic, Connecticut, according to her Facebook, Brown is also a prominent cellist known in the Las Vegas area.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She performs with Nina Di Gregorio’s Bella Electric Strings ensemble and with David Perrico’s Pop Strings orchestra, which headlined weekends for five years at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace before COVID-19 hit.
Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh judges contestants during the fourth annual Las Vegas Halloween Parade on October 31, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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She was also part of the Vegas Golden Strings lineup that performed alongside Imagine Dragons on “Whatever It Takes” prior to Game 2 of the NHL Final in 2018.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hsieh was in Connecticut with his brother when the fire broke out, Tech Crunch reported.
One of the entrepreneur’s assistants, Anthony Hebert, told Fox 61 that Hsieh was in the state visiting family — and his “soulmate,” though he declined to elaborate.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brown could not be reached by The Post.
Hsieh was pulled out of a shed unresponsive on Nov. 18 at the home at 500 Pequot Ave. He died nine days later of complications from smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.