NORWALK, Conn., Feb. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Priceline
Group (NASDAQ: PCLN) today announced that Paul J. Hennessy has been named Chief Executive
Officer of priceline.com, an operating business of The Priceline
Group (NASDAQ: PCLN), effective April
1, 2015. Mr. Hennessy will report into Darren Huston, President & CEO of The
Priceline Group. Current priceline.com CEO Chris Soder has been named Chairman of the
Norwalk, CT-based
business.
A veteran executive of The Priceline Group, Mr. Hennessy
currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer of Booking.com, the
Group's global Amsterdam-based
brand and number one online accommodations service in the world,
where he oversees all global marketing efforts – online and offline
– across the world. Prior to this, Hennessy served as
Chief Distribution Officer of priceline.com where he managed online
marketing, distribution and advertising sales for the business.
Appointed CEO of priceline.com in 2011, Mr. Soder will
transition into the role of Chairman of priceline.com, where he
will continue to work on building the company's strategy alongside
Hennessy. Soder joined priceline.com in 2000 and served as the
brand's President of North America
prior to his appointment as CEO.
"Chris has been instrumental in the success of the priceline.com
brand, and his impact on the business over the years has been
significant. His experience will be a great asset for Paul as
Paul takes over day-to-day operations" said Darren Huston, President & CEO of The
Priceline Group. "Paul has tremendous expertise in driving growth
and global consumer demand, most recently at Booking.com, and his
experience will help guide priceline.com in its next chapter as a
leader in delivering the best online travel deals for
consumers."
"It was important to us to have someone who knows the business
of online travel and the priceline.com culture, and having worked
alongside Paul for many years, I know he will be a great leader for
priceline.com," said Soder. "It's an exciting time for our
industry and I look forward to staying involved in the
priceline.com business as the company looks to find new ways to
build on its strong position in the highly competitive North
American online travel landscape."
Additionally, Pepijn Rijvers has been appointed to the role of
Chief Marketing Officer of Booking.com, effective April 1, 2015 in conjunction with Mr. Hennessy's
move to priceline.com. A member of the Booking.com team since 2008,
Mr. Rijvers has held positions in Business Development, Content and
most recently as the Director of the Hotels Team overseeing an
organization of 2,000+ employees. Under his leadership, Booking.com
has grown to over 600,000 accommodations partners worldwide.
Mr. Rijvers will report into Gillian Tans, President & COO of
Booking.com.
About The Priceline Group
The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN) is the world leader in online
travel and related services, provided to consumers and local
partners in over 200 countries through six primary brands:
Booking.com, priceline.com, KAYAK, agoda.com, rentalcars.com and
OpenTable. For more information visit PricelineGroup.com.
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SOURCE The Priceline Group