Expedia Inc., the soon-to-be spun-off travel division of media conglomerate InterActiveCorp
(BTNOnline, Dec. 21, 2004), yesterday announced a series of corporate restructuring moves, including the resignation of Expedia Corporate Travel president Matt Hulett and appointment of Cheryl Rosner, president of Hotels.com, to the post.
Hulett, who took the helm at ECT in early 2003 after being involved in the company's strategic growth since its inception in 2002, said that, while his departure is effective immediately, he plans to stay on in a consultative role through the leadership transition.
"It's been a wild ride and it's been great to have been a part of this rocket ship of a business. The growth has been extraordinary and not that many people have the good fortune to be a part of a triple-digit business," Hulett said. "When I looked back at all that, I quickly realized, 'Wow, that's incredible success' and 'Wow, this company is not a startup anymore.' My real passion in life is to start up companies. That's what I did at RealNetworks and B2B before joining Expedia, and that's what I'm getting back to."
Though Hulett was tight-lipped about his next endeavor, he noted that he will likely move beyond travel management into a more software-oriented business and has taken a particular interest in the burgeoning market for on-demand Web services. "No one can understand it when I walk through my resume with people, but if you actually look at what I'm doing, I'm disrupting marketplaces. I like being the change agent," said Hulett, adding that his priority is to ensure that ECT's customers are comfortable with the transition as it wraps up over the coming weeks. "I'm really, really excited that an executive of Cheryl's caliber is taking on ECT. This business is in very solid hands with Cheryl."
Rosner, who previously served as president of IAC subsidiary Hotels.com and held executive roles with Ian Schrager Hotels, Kimpton Hotels and Four Seasons, said she will focus on building ECT into a truly global brand.
"For the past three years, my work at Hotels.com has really been about taking something which, at that point, was considered in the leisure world to be a small business, and building it into a global brand. The goal was to build upon the great foundation that already existed at that point and really bring it to global prominence," Rosner said. "At ECT, the type of growth and number of customers being served is extraordinary. Now it's really about bringing it to the next level, and building it globally so we can best serve our corporate customers."
Rosner, who has held the post for 24 hours, said it was too soon to discuss the specifics of ECT's strategy. "The next 90 days are really about spending time with the staff and with the customers. In any new role, I take the opportunity to listen and learn," she said, adding that, for now, ECT clients should experience business as usual. "I don't foresee incremental changes taking place because it's just not necessary. We're serving our clients in a way that certainly meets their needs today."