04.12.2024 Today’s Inspiration from Ariane Gorin, CEO of $I3B+ company Expedia, in Travel Industry News Site Skift.com
Dear Students,
Since woman CEOs (some 10% among the Fortune 500) are still pretty rare, it’s especially exciting to hear about their pathways to the top job. It’s even more intriguing when a chief executive has successfully conducted a multi-year transition across several industries which, on the surface, are seemingly very different and has dual citizenship/language skills.
In this spirit, meet Ariane Gorin, CEO of Expedia Group and President of Expedia for Business.
Following Covid, the travel industry has come roaring back, with Gorin, a UC Berkeley Economics and Kellogg MBA grad, affirming through McKinsey that: “One thing that’s certain is that people need to travel, want to travel, and—no matter what barriers are put up—will find a way to travel.” No doubt the bilingual French executive and mom, who spent 2+ years at BCG, I0+ years at Microsoft and nearly I2 years, to date, at Expedia, has done her fair share of travel.
Here’s a peek into some of the power skills Gorin’s known for demonstrating, leveraging and espousing:
On risk-taking and curiosity: “Sometimes it’s good to go off the beaten path, [to] try something new. It gives you the freedom to try new things.”
On focused effort, developing a POV (point of view) and communication skills: “My 10th grade European history teacher taught me to work hard and learn the facts, but then to form an opinion of my own and learn to articulate it.”
On continuous experimentation, collaboration, agility and learning from mistakes: “[AI is] going to be everywhere, and we need to test it everywhere…Some of it will work, some of it won’t. We will learn by testing.”
On the value of creativity, critical thinking and innovation: “My teacher Mr. Chrome…graded us not only on our knowledge…, but [also] on the clarity and originality of our thinking…he taught me to think more deeply and independently.”
And, while building functional and industry knowledge is certainly important in advancing one’s career, Gorin is a poignant example to ambitious international students (like you!) of a professional whose well-developed power skills have clearly contributed to the attainment of her current post, as a leader of a fast-growing firm with 200+ websites, a presence in 70 countries, and a global team of 17,000.
Wishing you smooth travels this evening!
Best,
Amy-Louise
Want to learn even more about Ariane Gorin?
Please see: