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US: Expedia Group has announced the appointment of Shilpa Ranganathan as its new chief product officer, marking her return to the company to lead its product and design teams.
Ranganathan previously served as director of product management at Expedia Group between 2004 and 2008, when she was responsible for leading product experiences at the group’s North American properties and the upkeep of its websites and services.
She will rejoin Expedia Group from Microsoft, where she currently holds the position of corporate vice president, Windows, leading the Windows end-user, developer and marketplace teams. In that role, she was also responsible for driving Microsoft’s consumer business on Windows and re-imagining Windows product experiences with AI and Copilot.
Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Shilpa back to Expedia Group as chief product officer. She brings extensive experience in building consumer products based on customer needs and leveraging cutting-edge technology.
“Shilpa’s passion for travel and expertise in product development will be invaluable as we continue to create new experiences for our travellers and partners,” she added.
Ranganathan said: “I have fond memories of Expedia Group and couldn’t be more excited to return to a company whose mission is to make dreams come true for travellers and partners around the world. I strongly believe in building superior product experiences designed with the customer in mind.
“With its iconic brands and leading B2B business, Expedia Group is well-positioned to deliver valuable travel experiences from pre-trip to post-post and drive unprecedented growth for partners. I’m looking forward to leading the product organisation and creating experiences that help our customers make lifelong memories with every journey,” she added.
In January, Ranganathan will join the Seattle-based travel leadership team and report directly to Gorin.
Two months ago, Expedia Group appointed Ramana Thumu as its chief technology officer [CTO] to replace Rathi Murthy, who was fired in May for “a violation of company policy”. Thumu has been tasked with leading Expedia Group’s technology organisation, overseeing engineering, data, artificial intelligence, cloud platforms, and security, while capitalising on the company’s technology and platform investments in recent years.
As well as the appointment of Gorin as CEO to replace Peter Kern, the group also recruited Brad Bentley as chief operations officer and Jochen Koedijk as chief marketing officer in April as part of an executive team reshuffle.
