- Push-out Score determined
- After less than two and a half years in the position
- Praise and good wishes for Okerstrom
- Responsibilities redistributed
(exechange) — Seattle, Washington, December 4, 2019 — Mark Okerstrom, chief executive of Expedia, leaves. As announced by Expedia Group Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Wednesday, December 4, 2019, Mark D. Okerstrom leaves his post as Chief Executive Officer at the travel technology company after less than two and a half years in the role, effective immediately.
Among the 3,000 largest publicly held companies incorporated in the U.S. based on market capitalization, the average tenure of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months was 7.5 years, according to data compiled by exechange. On an accumulated basis, around 25% of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months left their posts within three years.
Following Mark Okerstrom’s departure, the position of Chief Executive Officer will not be filled for the time being. Mark Okerstrom’s responsibilities are being redistributed.
Mark Okerstrom’s move is part of a management shake-up also involving the position of Chief Financial Officer.
“Senior management and the Board disagreed on strategy”
The management change is explained as follows. Chairman Barry Diller said: “Ultimately, senior management and the Board disagreed on strategy. Earlier this year, Expedia embarked on an ambitious reorganization plan with the goal of bringing our brands and technology together in a more efficient way. This reorganization, while sound in concept, resulted in a material loss of focus on our current operations, leading to disappointing third quarter results and a lackluster near-term outlook. The Board disagreed with that outlook, as well as the departing leadership’s vision for growth, strongly believing the Company can accelerate growth in 2020. That divergence necessitated a change in management.”
Precise information regarding Mark Okerstrom’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Resignation”
Expedia said: “Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) today announced the resignation of Mark Okerstrom as CEO and a member of the Board of Directors and CFO Alan Pickerill, effective immediately.”
Expedia further said: “Chief Executive Officer Mark Okerstrom and Chief Financial Officer Alan Pickerill resigned from the Company at the request of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), effective immediately.”
“Mr. Okerstrom did not have any disagreement”
“Mr. Okerstrom did not have any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to its operations, policies or practices,” Expedia said.
Share price decline
The announcement follows a decline in Expedia Group, Inc.’s share price of 28% since November 2019.
Chaired by Barry Diller
Expedia Group, Inc. is chaired by Barry Diller.
Diller has been the Chairman of the Board and Senior Executive of Expedia Group since the completion of the Company’s spin-off from IAC/InterActiveCorp (“IAC”) on August 9, 2005 (the “IAC/Expedia Group Spin-Off”).
In the position of CEO since 2017
Mark Okerstrom became CEO of the Company in 2017.
Okerstrom has been a director and President and Chief Executive Officer of Expedia Group since August 2017, having previously served as its Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer from October 2014 to August 2017, as its Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President from September 2011 to October 2014, as its Secretary from October 2011 until April 2012 and as its Senior Vice President of Corporate Development from February 2009 to September 2011.
Having joined the Company in October 2006, Okerstrom previously served as Vice President, Corporate Development until February 2009 and as Senior Director, Corporate Development until February 2008.
Prior to joining the Company, Okerstrom was a consultant with Bain & Company in Boston and San Francisco, and worked with UBS Investment Bank in London.
Prior to that, Okerstrom practiced as an attorney with the global law firm of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London.
Okerstrom holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a law degree from the University of British Columbia.
Okerstrom is currently Chairman of the Supervisory Board of trivago N.V.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding the management change on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to Expedia and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 49.2019 ($).