In July, Tripadvisor will have a new chief executive, ending a six-month search for a leader to guide the travel website’s post-pandemic rebound.
Matt Goldberg replaces company co-founder Steve Kaufer, who announced his intention to leave his role as CEO this past November.
As the company’s next CEO, Goldberg brings a deep background in the digital content, media and entertainment and travel industries. He has experience in both B2B and direct-to-consumer models and most recently was the EVP of North America and Global Operations at The Trade Desk. He also brings experience from News Corp, Liberty Interactive Corp, Lonely Planet and Dow Jones.
"We are excited to announce the appointment of Matt Goldberg to the role of CEO," Board Chairman Greg Maffei said in the company’s announcement. "Matt has proven leadership and experience in strategy and operations for more than 20 years across a number of leading media, advertising, and consumer-facing companies. We welcome him to the team and look forward to his expertise as he leads Tripadvisor in the next phase of its journey."
Goldberg inherits a company on the rebound. Last quarter, Tripadvisor announced that the number of average monthly unique users to Tripadvisor-branded websites increased 27% year-over-year and was approximately 71% of its comparable pre-pandemic traffic.
Additionally, in the first quarter of 2022 Tripadvisor posted a consolidated net loss of $34 million, improved from a net loss of $80 million in the first three months of 2021.
"I could not be more enthusiastic about joining Tripadvisor, a company I have long admired, whose leadership and teams have built an amazing, globally recognized consumer brand with a unique spot in travel and digital media," Goldberg said. "I'm incredibly excited to return to the travel sector to innovate within the industry and leverage the platform's reach and community trust. I see a long runway ahead and many opportunities to create value for our travelers and partners."
Among Goldberg’s biggest priorities will be figuring out what to do with TripAdvisor Plus, the company’s $99-per-year premium service, which launched last year and promises subscribers travel discounts. However, TripAdvisor Plus has struggled to see mass adoption and was forced to change its rewards structure just months after launch.
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