Shutterfly Hired An Amazon Exec As Its New CEO; Good Move?

Digital imaging company Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFLY) has named Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) veteran Christopher North as president and chief executive officer, effective May 31, 2016.

According to Shutterfly, North hails from Amazon UK, where he has worked since 2006, serving as the UK managing director since 2011. Under his leadership, Amazon's UK revenue has grown to more than $9 billion in 2015.

"Working under Jeff Bezos, a visionary in our view, and one who has a reputation for driving his employees towards excellence, Mr. North likely developed a solid management skill set which should be useful to driving growth for Shutterfly. Further, we understand from prior colleagues of his that he is a great person to work with," Axiom analyst Victor Anthony wrote in a note.

"Mr. North's leadership approach helps him drive strategic thinking across many functional and product categories, ideal for Shutterfly's structure and portfolio of brands. Mr. North also brings proven experience creating and executing business plans with an eye to growth, operational excellence and technology as key drivers of success," Shutterfly said in a statement.

From December: Baird Isn't Surprised By Shutterfly's CEO Departure, Maintains Outperform

The announcement comes as shareholders Ancora Advisors LLC and EastBay Asset Management are pressuring the company to pursue a sale after it disclosed that it has received a buyout offer from a private equity firm. Ancora's letter, earlier this month, identified the suitor as Thomas Lee Partners, a private equity firm in Boston.

Anthony said the recent appointment shouldn't affect the acquisition talks.

"Any acquirer of SFLY now has a solid CEO to lead the business, and if the acquirer is a private equity firm, an exit to Amazon is now easier," the analyst added.

Anthony has a Buy rating and $51 price target on Shutterfly, whose shares closed Thursday's session at $46.81. The stock has dropped 19 percent this year.

Image credit: Brian Turner, Flickr