Expedia COO Mark Okerstrom ascends to CEO

Expedia’s board of directors approved two senior-level appointments following company CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s decision to accept a new position as CEO of Uber. Mark Okerstrom, formerly COO and EVP of operations at Expedia, is the new CEO of Expedia, while Alan Pickerill, a SVP at the company, was named COO.

Mark Okerstrom
Khosrowshahi has decided to step into the leadership role at Uber following the resignation of previous CEO Travis Kalanick and a multimonth search for his replacement. Uber previously extended CEO offers to Hewlett Packard boss Meg Whitman and General Electric chairman Jeff Immelt, both of whom rejected the offer. 

After assuming his new position at Uber, Khosrowshahi will remain on Expedia’s board of directors. With Okerstrom’s appointment to CEO, he will be joining the board.

“Prior to Dara leaving, Mark Okerstrom was his principal partner in operating the company—and therefore this transition is as natural as water flowing down a snow-packed mountain,” Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia, said in a statement. “There was no other candidate that the board considered.”

Alan Pickerill

Okerstrom served as Expedia’s EVP of operations and CFO since September 2011, and previously was Expedia’s secretary from October 2011 to April 2012. He joined the company in 2006 as senior director, corporate development and strategy, and during his tenure also served as VP of corporate development and strategy and SVP of corporate development. 

Replacing Okerstrom as Expedia’s COO is Alan Pickerill, who joined Expedia in 2008 and was appointed head of investor relations in 2010. He has 30 years of finance and accounting experience. He began his career as an accountant at Deloitte and Touche before holding positions at Microsoft and Getty Images. He is currently a member of Expedia’s Disclosure Practices and Foreign Exchange Review committees.