AMZN Amazon.com Inc

By Nina Trentmann 

Stitch Fix Inc.'s new finance chief, Dan Jedda, is joining a cohort of former Amazon.com Inc. executives who have left the e-commerce giant to become CFOs elsewhere, strengthening the company's reputation as a breeding ground for finance talent.

San Francisco-based Stitch Fix, which offers a personal online styling service, on Monday said Mr. Jedda will take over as chief financial officer on Dec. 9. Mr. Jedda replaces former interim CFO Mike Smith, the company's president and chief operating officer, who in November announced he would leave Stitch Fix to launch a venture-capital firm.

Mr. Smith had been in the role for nearly a year following the departure of Paul Yee, Stitch Fix's former permanent CFO, who was appointed in 2017 and announced his plan to leave last December.

Mr. Jedda joins Stitch Fix from Amazon, where he spent more than 15 years in finance, including as divisional CFO of the company's digital video, digital music and advertising businesses. He was also responsible for Amazon's corporate development organization.

"Dan brings extensive experience funding and scaling some of the most innovative businesses at Amazon," Stitch Fix Chief Executive Katrina Lake said.

In his new role, Mr. Jedda will be tasked with helping to expand the company's personalization platform and to boost the company's growth, Ms. Lake said.

Stitch Fix, which was founded in 2011 and listed on the public markets in 2017, on Monday reported net revenue of $490.4 million for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up 10% compared with the prior-year period.

Analysts had forecast quarterly sales of $481.2 million, according to data provider FactSet. Shares rose more than 34% in after hours trading. Stitch Fix's stock is up nearly 40% so far this year.

Mr. Jedda's appointment follows the example set by other companies in the consumer and technology industries that hired finance executives from Amazon.

"There have been a number of strong CFOs from Amazon," said Josh Baskins, a principal at recruitment firm Lancor. "I think they can attract top finance talent, being the fastest-growing, most innovative tech company world-wide," Mr. Baskins said.

Ford Motor Co.'s finances until October were led by Tim Stone, a former Amazon executive who also served as CFO of Snap Inc. Mr. Stone left Ford after about 18 months and is now the finance and operations chief of Asapp Inc., an artificial-intelligence software company. "At Amazon, you have to learn a skill quickly," Mr. Stone said in an interview in July.

Home rental company Airbnb Inc., online map provider Mapbox Inc. and digital advertising firm Trade Desk Inc. also hired their finance chiefs from Amazon or one of its subsidiaries. So did Snap, when it recruited its current CFO Derek Andersen from Amazon.

Blake Grayson last year took over the finances at Trade Desk, after nearly 11 years in Amazon's finance department. Mr. Grayson said he learned how to scale a business at Amazon and how to remain calm under pressure. "There are not that many companies out there that can provide these kinds of experiences to their folks," Mr. Grayson said, pointing to Amazon's explosive growth in recent years.

A spokeswoman for Amazon confirmed that several senior members of its finance organization have taken on CFO roles outside the company.

Stitch Fix declined to make Mr. Jedda available for an interview or to comment beyond the press release.

Kristin Broughton contributed to this article.

Write to Nina Trentmann at Nina.Trentmann@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 07, 2020 21:03 ET (02:03 GMT)

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