Expedia reveals senior hires from Apple and Verizon amid leadership shake-up

Three senior leaders to depart as travel giant reveals restructure under four key pillars

Expedia has announced two senior executive hires as part of a leadership shake-up that will see three key divisional presidents leave the business.

Rathi Murthy, formerly of Verizon, will join as chief technology officer and president of Expedia Services and Jon Gieselman, previously head of marketing at Apple, will take up the role of president of Expedia Brands.

The three departures include Cyril Ranque, president, travel partners group, Adam Jay, president and co-lead, marketing; and Tucker Moodey, president, retail product and technology,

Expedia said they will depart “at different timeframes over the next several months”. The firm added: “These leaders have long tenure with Expedia Group, and their contributions are vast. The company thanks Cyril, Adam, and Tucker for their combined four decades of service and the leadership and success of their respective organisations.”

As well as the change in personnel Expedia also announced a new operating structure with the firm organized into four key pillars: Expedia Services, Expedia Brands, Expedia Marketplace, and Expedia for Business.

Today’s announcement was described as the latest step in streamlining the organisation which began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Expedia Group’s leadership believes this evolution is critical as we emerge from the pandemic, capture pent-up demand, and make strides towards powering the travel ecosystem,” the firm said.

Peter Kern, vice chairman and chief executive of Expedia Group, said: “Today, we take an important next step in Expedia Group’s journey as we add two exceptional talents to our leadership team and simplify our organization for clarity and speed.

“Rathi and Jon represent the character of executives, depth and breadth of experience, and success in their respective fields we seek at our leadership table. Our Chairman and I have complete confidence in what they will deliver and we are excited to welcome them to the team.”

At Apple Gieselman led marketing for the services division including a broad portfolio of businesses.

He worked closely with product, engineering, and design to expand services through his “innovative brand, digital, and direct marketing approach”, Expedia said.

In his new role, he will lead Expedia Brands covering its consumer-facing businesses and “focus on bringing to life unique experiences customers love that connect the world through travel”.

Jeff Hurst, previous president and co-lead of marketing, will become the Expedia Brands chief operating officer reporting to Gieselman.

Expedia described Murthy as “a widely recognised transformative technology executive with deep experience and knowledge in platform environments at Fortune 500 e-commerce, financial services, telecommunications, and media companies”.

Most recently, she managed innovations in 5G and the platform technology and infrastructure at Verizon Media.

In her new role at the head of Expedia Services she will oversee data and artificial intelligence, e-commerce, payments, and customer experience, focusing on evolving the company’s technical strategy and underlying platform.

John Kim, previous president of platform and marketplaces, will become president of Expedia Marketplace.

In this role, he will oversee strategy, product, technology, and operations for all lines of business “bringing Expedia Group products to life to create locally relevant and customer-centric travel experiences, benefitting our customers and suppliers”.

Ariane Gorin becomes president of the newly formed Expedia for Business combing the Travel Partners Group and Expedia Business.

She will oversee B2B relationships, working with business partners in supporting supply partners to make the most of the Expedia platform.

Kern added: “As we move into four clearer operating divisions, the addition of Rathi and Jon and new roles for John and Ariane demonstrate our commitment to simplifying our business so we can be more agile and deliver innovative products faster.

“We set out last year with a clear mission: to power the entire travel ecosystem, and these positions fill the core skillsets we need to accelerate forward.”

Gieselman said: “Having served on the board of directors for 18 months, I can see clearly the opportunity we have in front of us.

“Expedia Group has a winning strategy for the business. There is tremendous leverage in going to market as a coordinated portfolio of brands, positioning us perfectly to bring to life new customer experiences they will absolutely love.

“We all miss traveling, so we’ll enjoy some natural tailwinds, but the real opportunity is to accelerate growth through meaningful innovation. I’m really excited to help transform the company from the inside.”

Murthy said: “It’s exhilarating to join Expedia Group at such a pivotal time for the industry. Travel is a personal passion, so the opportunity to pair my technological expertise with a company driven by such a clear purpose to connect people all around the world was an opportunity I had to pursue. I look forward to leading the team driving the platformisation of travel.”