Why Did The Street Cheer News Of Tableau Software's New CEO

Shares of Tableau Software Inc DATA's spiked more than 10 percent after announcing the appointment of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN former executive Adam Selipsky as its new CEO.

But, not only investors were cheering the new chief executive; analysts were also pleased with the announcement. On Tuesday, Baird said it was "incrementally positive" on the stock, as its experts believe the CEO pick will help the company boost its Enterprise G2M. The firm reiterated an Outperform rating on the stock, while raising its price target by $5 to $65.

Who’s Selipsky?

Selipsky served as Amazon Web Services’ vice president of marketing, sales and support, having spent more than a decade with the company. Over his tenure, he made AWS one of the most successful tech platforms in the globe, and arguably the main player in the cloud computing segment. Previous to Amazon, he had worked 6 years with digital entertainment company RealNetworks.

Related Link: RBC Capital Downgrades Tableau Software To Sector Perform

Selipsky brings plenty of web services selling experience, which will be crucial for the procurement of new and larger deals for Tableau. Christian Chabot, outgoing CEO, said Selipsky would fulfill the role of a "customer evangelist."

“His experience in making AWS the world’s leading cloud platform, his passion for servicing customers at a global scale, and his authentic team player attitude make him an extraordinary fit for Tableau,” he commented, adding that he viewed him as “the right person to lead Tableau to the next stage of growth.”

In fact, he added, it is not only a cloud opportunity that Selipsky wants to tap; enterprise and IT are other areas of focus for the new exec. “If we get those two big pushes right over the coming years, Tableau is going to flourish,” Chabot assured in a recent interview.

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Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.