Packsize, whose machines crank out sustainable, right-sized packaging for retailers such as Walmart and Staples, has found a legal chief who checked all the right boxes.

JD Ellis comes to the Salt Lake City-based company from Snap One, a maker of home automation products based in suburban Salt Lake City and Charlotte, North Carolina. His tenure with Snap One began in 2019 and culminated this June with the company being acquired by Scottsdale, Arizona-based rival Resideo Technologies for $1.4 billion.

Ellis has extensive experience in sofware, software licensing and negotiating complex commercial transactions.

"JD will play a key role in our strategic growth initiatives, ensuring appropriate risk management and protection of intellectual property, two critical elements of high-functioning business operations," Packsize CEO David Lockwood said.

In a statement, Ellis said he wants to help "advance the vision of a forward-thinking company that excels in sustainability by offering solutions designed to improve the planet."

The company's automated machines produce on-demand boxes that are precisely sized for the product they will hold, reducing the amount of cardboard and filler needed.

Besides sustainability benefits, right-sized boxes cost less to ship and take up less space in inventory.

A unit Packsize built for Walmart fulfillment centers can crank out up to 600 boxes per hour.

Ellis will serve as chief legal officer, which appears to be a new title for Packsize. Holli Lewis, a former vice president and associate general counsel at Jack Daniel's parent Brown Forman, became Packsize's general counsel in May 2023 but left the company in August, according to her LinkedIn.

Privately held Packsize launched in 2002 and has raised more than $11 million in two venture capital rounds. It has about 800 employees and generates an estimated $800 million in annual revenues.

Other Packsize customers include Hershey and consumer electronics retailer Crutchfield.

Previously, Ellis spent nearly a decade at the home automation company Control 4 and was serving as its general counsel when Snap One bought it for $680 million in 2019.

Ellis has a bachelor's degree in economics from Brigham Young University. He received his law degree from Georgetown.