Ariane Gorin will be the new boss of the Expedia Group from May 13th. She replaces Peter Kern, who has held this position since 2020 and led the company through the pandemic. Expedia announced in a press release that Kern will continue to serve as vice chairman and board member for the group.
According to information from the Bloomberg news agency, the change at the top comes as a surprise and could signal a fight over the company’s strategic direction. According to Barry Diller, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Expedia Group, an internal successor was sought for the position. Gorin wrote on the online platform Linkedin that she feels honored and is full of anticipation that she was chosen.
Gorin has held various leadership positions for Expedia Group since 2013, most recently serving as President of Expedia Business. In this position, she led the company’s global partner group, advertising business and B2B partner network, i.e. the transactions between the company and other companies. According to Expedia’s press release, it achieved “outstanding financial results in this area, including B2B sales growth of 33 percent in 2023 compared to 2022.”
Expedia Group also announced fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results. Accordingly, the company generated sales of around 11.9 billion euros last year – 9.4 percent more than the previous year. However, growth in room bookings in the fourth quarter fell short of expectations, according to Bloomberg. Shares fell 13 percent in after-hours trading.