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.

Share:
More In Business
The Most Important Job Skills Workers Should Know About
The World Economic Forum recently released its future of jobs report and broke down what abilities employers are looking for. Julia Pollak, chief labor economist at ZipRecruiter, joined Cheddar News to discuss what top, in-demand job skills are needed in the rapidly-changing economy.
What We Learned From Upfronts This Year Amid Writers' Strike
This year's upfront presentations to advertisers happened against the backdrop of a massive writers' strike. Cheddar News broke down the big takeaways from how networks proceeded with their events and what upcoming TV and streaming shows were presented.
Load More