Julie Whalen announced on Monday that she is scheduled to depart the company in February 2025, bringing an end to her tenure as CFO for two years. According to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission the exit will be effective at the time that her successor assumes the office of the CFO, although leadership transition is expected to be completed by February 17, 2025.
As Expedia’s CEO, Ariane Gorin said in the release: “I wanted to take this moment to express my heartfelt gratitude on behalf of the Expedia Group team for Julie’s outstanding leadership and lasting contribution to our company as an independent director and CFO over the past five years.”
The company has established that Whalen’s exit has nothing to do with the disputations of the operations, policies, or the practices carried out in Expedia. The reasons why she is leaving are unknown.
Whalen is an effective executive, but this was one time he needed to get out of Expedia ahead of significant leadership changes at the company. In October, Expedia appointed Ramana Thumu as Chief Technology Officer, replacing Rathi Murthy, who was let go after allegedly violating company policy. Other significant executive moves include May’s installation of Ariane Gorin as CEO following Peter Kern’s move to become Vice Chairman of the Board.
Julie Whalen joins Expedia from a distinguished 21-year career at Williams-Sonoma, where she spent a decade as CFO. She joined Expedia as its newly appointed CFO in September of last year, succeeding Eric Hart. Previously, she led the firm’s audit committee from 2020 to 2022 before taking on her CFO role.
This is the second resignation following Whalen, whom Expedia hired from IAC/InterActiveCorp in November to replace CFO and Interim President Dara Khosrowshahi. The exit comes after one of the toughest years for Expedia, marred by a major restructuring that saw 1,500 jobs downsize, including 208 in Seattle. The company still managed to post a 4 percent revenue growth for the third quarter, marking a record $4.6 billion. Continue to move ahead with the changing times in the industry, Expedia continues to maintain strategic efforts in further streamlining its business and enriching its portfolio comprising brands such as Expedia, Orbitz, and Vrbo.
