Trivago Chief Financial Officer Axel Hefer will replace co-founder and CEO Rolf Schrömgens at the end of the year, the company announced.
Hefer told Cheddar in an interview Tuesday the company had been working on a succession plan since he joined the company three years ago.
Schrömgens's co-founders Peter Vinnemeier and Stephan Stubner left the company in 2018. Hefer told Cheddar Schrömgens felt it was time for him "to move into a more passive role." Schrömgens will join the advisory board and give up his board of directors seat.
Trivago's stock was down about 19 percent after the surprising announcement, made along with the Q3 earnings report.
"Our third quarter overall came in softer than expected," he said. The company expects a smaller Q4 revenue than last year.
Hefer said the stock price reaction "is a combination of both filings and, obviously, very difficult to say which part of the drop is associated to the different news."
Hefer said the company has been focused on profitability after losing a "substantial sums of money" in the first half of 2018.
Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis are asking a federal judge on Tuesday to dismiss a free speech lawsuit filed by Disney after the Florida governor took over Walt Disney World's governing district in retaliation for the company opposing a state law that banned classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.
