Corbis Promotes Shenk . . .
Stock Asylum Staff Report
Nov. 28, 2006
Asserting that "The opportunity right now for Corbis is greater
than ever," Gary Shenk took over the reins
of the Seattle stock photography company's daily operations after being
named president early on this date. Shenk's promotion makes him the
heir-apparent to the top Corbis job, now held by Chief Executive Officer
Steve Davis, who, at 49, is about ten years Shenk's senior.
 Corbis' Gary Shenk will be responsible for daily operations as the newly-named president of the world's second largest stock photography distributor. ( © Ron Rovtar). |
"We're not going to be a 'We try harder' number two forever," Shenk said referring to his company's perpetual position behind cross-town rival Getty Images.
"People want Corbis to succeed. People are dying for an alternative to Getty. Corbis is a more friendly company to deal with across the board and I will support that continued evolution," Shenk added.
As the new Corbis President, Shenk takes over some of the responsibilities that have been handled by Davis, who was both chief executive officer and president until the announcement today.
Shenk will report to Davis, who now concentrates on his roll as CEO, a position he plans to hold for some time.
"I'm not interested in retiring and I'm not leaving either," Davis said after Shenk's promotion was announced. But, he said, Corbis is consciously creating a succession program for key executives and Shenk is now firmly in line for the top job. "This is happening at all levels of Corbis," Davis noted.
Shenk's promotion lets Davis turn his attention to big-picture concerns like creating new business models and fostering strategic growth opportunities. He also will work on legal, technological and financial matters, the CEO said.
"It's a role I enjoy and a role I do pretty well," Davis said. "Gary is good operationally, so we compliment each other there."
One important task facing Davis involves the future ownership and structure of a company that has grown to 1,100 employees worldwide and is struggling closer to profitability.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates owns Corbis. But, ever since the company started reporting financial results almost two years ago, there has been widespread speculation Corbis will become a publicly traded firm like Getty Images and JupiterImages.
Davis said Corbis could go public in the next five to ten years or it could simply bring in another private investor or a private equity group.
Shenk, who most recently served as Corbis' senior vice president of images, will continue to direct the company's image licensing division.
In addition, he will oversee services like media management (digital asset management), rights clearance, rights representation and artists representation.
"We've had a lot of new product offerings come online in the last few years," said Davis. "A primary driver (of Shenks promotion) is to really bring those into tighter market alignment."
A graduate of Harvard College and Wharton Business School, Shenk said Corbis is seeing significant growth in these services outside the core stock photography market segment, which generates the bulk of the company's sales. Before joining Corbis in 2003, Shenk was founder and general manager of FlixMix, a media licensing agency owned by Universal Studios. He has also worked in rights services at Corbis.
"We've accumulated the best assets in the business," Shenk claimed. "We really have the best pictures, period. We have a global brand, a reputation for customer service and, this year, we have led the industry in growth."
Despite industry-wide concerns that micropayment sites like iStockphoto and fotolia could undermine traditional stock photography by selling images for as little a one dollar, Shenk sees a bright future for Corbis.
He said Corbis attracts "the higher-end professional customer so we haven't been as susceptible as some companies."
"There's no question that micropayments represent a threat to a part of our customer base," said Shenk.
But, he added, "There's no cataclysmic scenario for our industry. If you make great pictures, they will sell and they will continue to sell at good prices."
He suggested that image suppliers like JupiterImages, which licenses many images to price sensitive customers, are more in danger of cannibalization by micropayment companies.
"At Corbis, our whole approach over the last year-and-a-half has really been to just focus on quality images," Shenk said. "A lot of growth opportunity still comes from the professional customer that was always the core of our industry."
In fact, Davis finds the micropayment segment intriguing and clearly plans to enter the low-end market segment much as Getty and Jupiter have.
"The only real risk about the microsites is that they feed the notion that photography is only worth a buck," said Davis. "But, I think the professional audience we work with understands the difference."
In coming months, Shenk said he and his staff will spend much time working on the Corbis web site. And, he said the company will replace all of its technology platforms with more modern ones.
Like executives at many stock agencies, Shenk would like to reduce costs by encouraging online transactions, involving no paid sales personnel.
"No one has succeeded in bringing the rights-managed customer online," Shenk noted. He said that a surprising number of royalty-free buyers also still make purchases on the telephone.
"A great customer, from the financial perspective, is a customer who searches online, buys online and doesn't require a lot of intervention," Shenk said.
He said a better search engine, a better sales system and a web site that is more customized to individual users is the key to moving more sales online.
"You want them to feel they are getting a higher level of customer service because the technology provides the personalization," Shenk said.
At the same time, Davis said he feels the stock industry must create better licensing models that meet customers' needs.
"I think the stock industry is woeful in its lack of innovation in pricing and usage models," Davis said. "I think Corbis and Getty both can be more innovative."
Shenk believes that Corbis already has established a solid foundation for future growth, especially in the area of customer service and the quality of photography on the Corbis web site.
The new president said surveys conducted by Corbis found customers rate Corbis imagery highest in the industry. "We are steadily growing against Getty. I think we are definitely taking (market share) from Getty."
"The industry is changing," noted Shenk. "New opportunities are emerging faster than old ones are going away. We are growing the fastest in the industry. Getty is shaky right now and, at this time, I feel very very confident in Corbis' future. All the pieces are coming together."
"The broadest challenge," added Davis, "is trying to be smart operationally about the existing business, but not miss out on the new opportunities. We need to be nimble enough to keep up, but stable enough that we are building a good long-term brand."
The Corbis web site is at: http://www.corbis.com.
