Jeffrey Housenbold

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Jeffrey Housenbold
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusiness executive
Known forLeadership of Shutterfly and the SoftBank Vision Fund

Jeffrey Housenbold is an American business executive who led Shutterfly from 2005 to 2016 and later served as a managing partner at the SoftBank Vision Fund. [1] [2] He became chief executive officer of Beast Industries, the holding company for Jimmy Donaldson's media and consumer ventures, in 2024. [3]

Contents

Career

Before joining Shutterfly, Housenbold held senior leadership roles at eBay, AltaVista, and the internet finance site RagingBull.com. [4] He became president and chief executive officer of Shutterfly in 2005 and led the company through its 2006 initial public offering while expanding into personalized photo publishing through acquisitions such as Tiny Prints and ThisLife. [1] [4] Housenbold announced his departure from Shutterfly in December 2015 and remained with the company through early 2016 to support the leadership transition. [1]

SoftBank appointed Housenbold as a managing partner in the Vision Fund in 2017, tasking him with consumer internet and marketplace investments. [5] During his tenure he worked on SoftBank's investments in DoorDash, Opendoor, and Coupang. [2] After leaving SoftBank in 2020 he launched the venture capital firm Honor Ventures in 2022, raising about $300 million for its first fund focused on consumer technology startups. [2] [6]

In June 2024 YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson hired Housenbold as president and chief operating officer of Beast Industries, later promoting him to chief executive officer. [3] Business Insider reported in 2025 that he sought to tighten production budgets, scale brand partnerships, and secure new financing for the company. [7]

Recognition

Housenbold received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Northern California in 2011 for his leadership at Shutterfly. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Baker, Liana B. (29 December 2015). "Shutterfly CEO Jeffrey Housenbold to step down". Reuters. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Brown, Eliot (30 December 2020). "SoftBank Vision Fund Executive Jeffrey Housenbold to Depart". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  3. 1 2 Gutelle, Sam (6 June 2024). "MrBeast hires VC vet to lead the company now known as Beast Industries". Tubefilter. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 Cutler, Kim-Mai (29 December 2015). "Shutterfly CEO Jeff Housenbold to step down next year". TechCrunch. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  5. ↑ Massoudi, Arash (27 November 2017). "SoftBank Vision Fund builds leadership team with new hires". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  6. ↑ McBride, Sarah (8 December 2022). "SoftBank veteran Jeffrey Housenbold starts Honor Ventures". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  7. ↑ Whateley, Dan; Lucia Moses (27 August 2025). "MrBeast tries to cut down on his massive spending without killing the magic". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "Shutterfly CEO Jeffrey Housenbold named EY Entrepreneur of the Year". Silicon Valley Business Journal. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
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