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
Trump Administration Shutters Consumer Protection Agency
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Load More