Amazon UK vice president of consumables Ajay Kavan has joined the board of In Kind Direct, a charity that redistributes products donated by retailers.

Kavan’s appointment comes as Amazon steps up its support of the charity. He will act as a trustee and non-executive director of In Kind Direct bringing 20 years of retail experience to the charity.

Kavan has been at Amazon since 2011 and beforehand was marketing and strategy director at Homebase for six years. He has previously held roles at B&Q and Littlewoods.

In Kind Direct was founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1996 and has redistributed over £140m worth of products from retailers including Asda, Disney and Argos to over 6,000 UK charities.

Kavan said: “Amazon has worked with In Kind Direct for several years and is pleased to be able to announce that it will significantly increase its ongoing support for the charity in 2013. The surplus stock donated to In Kind Direct comprises a broad range of unused products in perfect condition and it is great to see this put to good use.”