Expedia, Inc. Appoints Paul Brown to Lead Expedia North America

BELLEVUE, Wash., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) today announced the appointment of Paul Brown as President of Expedia North America, overseeing Expedia.com(R), Expedia.ca(TM), Worldwide Travel Exchange(R) (Expedia's private label business), Destination Services and the Expedia business operations group. Brown will continue to lead Expedia's Partner Services Group (PSG).

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"I'm excited about the dedicated focus Paul will bring to our flagship brand, coupled with his deep understanding of our suppliers' needs and his extensive operational and sales experience in the travel industry. This move will enable us to respond quickly to supply-and-demand opportunities as we construct the industry-leading marketplace to connect suppliers' products with travelers' needs," said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia, Inc.

Brown brings more than 10 years of travel-industry experience to his new position. Before joining PSG, he served as senior vice president of strategy and development for Hotels.com(R) and Expedia North America. Prior to joining Expedia, he had extensive sales and marketing experience as a partner with McKinsey & Company's London office, where he was a leader of the global travel and hospitality practice group, serving hotels, airlines, tour operators, GDSs and travel agencies. Additionally, he was senior vice president of Strategic Services for Intercontinental Hotel Group.

Steven McArthur, the current president of Expedia North America, will be resigning from the company to pursue other interests after providing support through the transition period. "We thank Steven for everything he has done for Expedia and wish him continued success in his future endeavors," said Khosrowshahi.

About Expedia, Inc.

Expedia, Inc. is the world's leading online travel company, empowering business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book, and experience travel. Expedia, Inc. also provides wholesale travel to offline retail travel agents. Expedia, Inc.'s portfolio of brands includes: Expedia.com(R), hotels.com(R), Hotwire(R), Expedia(R) Corporate Travel, TripAdvisor(TM) and Classic Vacations(R). Expedia, Inc.'s companies also operate internationally with sites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, and China, through its investment in eLong(TM). The company is dedicated to positively impacting global tourism and promoting sustainable tourism through the World Heritage Alliance -- a joint initiative with the United Nations Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/ .