SPMB Recruits CEO for Shutterfly

December 2, 2019 – The private equity sector is witnessing an explosive bidding war for top leaders as portfolio companies expand their needs for C-suite talent. SPMB, an executive search firm that helps find transformative executives throughout Silicon Valley, recently placed Hilary Schneider as the new CEO of Shutterfly, which was acquired earlier this year by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. She succeeds Ryan O’Hara, effective Jan. 15. Partner Becky Stein led the search.

“We are delighted to welcome Hilary to the Shutterfly team and are confident her management and technology experience make her ideally suited to lead the company forward,” said David Sambur, chairman of the Shutterfly board of directors and co-lead partner of private equity at Apollo. “A pioneer in the personalized photos and services space, Shutterfly has cultivated deep customer connections and is well positioned for continued success. We look forward to supporting Hilary and the leadership team as we execute on our shared vision for Shutterfly.”

“Hilary is an accomplished executive with significant digital industry expertise and a focus on innovation and superior customer experiences that will support Shutterfly’s next chapter,” said Reed Rayman of the Apollo private equity team and a member of Shutterfly’s board of directors. “We look forward to partnering with Hilary as well as the Shutterfly management team and employees to grow its three divisions and deliver the best products and services to consumers.”

Ms. Schneider has more than 20 years of experience leading consumer technology companies. Since January 2018, she has served as CEO of Wag!, the country’s largest on-demand mobile dog walking and dog care service. Prior to this role, she served as president and CEO of LifeLock, the leader in identity theft protection, through its public listing and acquisition by Symantec. Previously, Ms. Schneider served in a series of executive positions at Yahoo! from 2006 to 2010 and in several senior leadership roles at Knight Ridder from 2002 to 2005. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

“I have long admired Shutterfly’s consumer-focused mission and am honored to lead this pioneering company as we continue to enhance our brand to drive sustainable growth,” said Ms. Schneider. “Through our consumer, Lifetouch and business solutions divisions, Shutterfly remains at the forefront of a fast growing photo and personalized products industry. Together with our thousands of talented employees, we will build on Shutterfly’s strong momentum by continuing to introduce new technology, expand our product offerings and increase customer engagement with innovative options for preserving and sharing photos.”

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Founded in 1999, Shutterfly’s brand brings photos to life in photo books, gifts, home décor, and cards and stationery.

Apollo is a global alternative investment manager with offices in New York; Los Angeles; San Diego; Houston; Bethesda, MD; London; Frankfurt; Madrid; Luxembourg; Mumbai; Delhi; Singapore; Hong Kong; Shanghai; and Tokyo. Apollo had assets under management of about $323 billion as of Sept. 30 in private equity, credit and real assets funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources.

Affiliates of certain investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo”) completed its acquisition of Shutterfly in late September. The acquisition represented a share sale price of $51, or enterprise value of about $2.7 billion. Shutterfly is now a privately held company, and its shares are no longer listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

“On behalf of the board, I thank Ryan for his contributions in leading Shutterfly’s transition to becoming a private company,” said Mr. Sambur. “We look forward to working with Ryan in his new role as an advisor to Apollo supporting transactions in the technology and media sectors.”

“Across its three divisions, Shutterfly Consumer, Shutterfly Business Solutions and Lifetouch, the company has developed industry-leading platforms while cultivating deep customer relationships,” Mr. Sambur said. “We look forward to working with the teams to grow each of the businesses and advance efforts to deliver exceptional customer experiences across personalized products and photography.”

Serving Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley accounts for 225,300 high-tech jobs and has the highest concentration of high-tech workers of any metropolitan area, with 285 out of every 1,000 private-sector workers. The region has the highest average high-tech salary in the U.S. at $144,800. Largely a result of the high technology sector, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, metropolitan statistical area has the most millionaires and the most billionaires in the U.S. per capita.

SPMB has over 40 years of experience in technology executive search. It is a top-ranked search firm in Silicon Valley and one of the nation’s leaders focused on technology. The firm’s tech roots have attracted financial services and private equity firms looking to tap into innovative tech talent in Silicon Valley and beyond. Recent SPMB clients in finance and fintech include Capital One, Coinbase, Credit Karma, Ripple Labs, Stripe and TransUnion.

SPMB has also placed dozens of senior executives at the portfolio companies of leading private equity firm partners including Blackstone, KKR and TPG.

Ms. Stein joined SPMB in 2015 and spearheads the firm’s consumer practice. She joined the firm from Korn Ferry, where she co-founded its consumer digital sector. Earlier in her career, she worked for Russell Reynolds Associates, FAO Schwarz and Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co, a private investment firm.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media