Expedia Group chief technology officer Rathi Murthy and Sreenivas
Rachamadugu, senior vice president of core services product and engineering, have
both been let go, just days after the company’s big Explore 24
partner event in Las Vegas where Murthy was one of the main stage speakers.

In a statement provided to PhocusWire, the company said, “Rathi
Murthy, Chief Technology Officer, and Sreenivas Rachamadugu, Senior Vice
President, Core Services Product & Engineering, are no longer employed at
Expedia Group. This decision is the result of a violation of Company policy.
We’re actively searching to fill these roles and remain confident in our
technology, strategy and employees. Due to confidentiality, we will not be
making any further comments on the matter.” 

Murthy joined Expedia Group in June 2021 – its first female CTO – after prior roles as
CTO for
Verizon Media and Gap and in leadership positions at American Express, eBay,
Yahoo and more.

She led the company’s work to unify its technology stack in a
single platform and implementation of the OneKey unified loyalty program in the past few years and also its aggressive work with
generative artificial intelligence since early 2023.

Tuesday, the first day of Expedia Explore 24, most of the company’s product announcements related to its ongoing integration of generative AI, including the launch of its new Romie trip planner.

According to LinkedIn, Rachamadugu joined Expedia Group shortly after Murthy, in September 2021, also coming from Verizon Media.

Explore 24 also marked the debut of Ariane Gorin as Expedia Group CEO, as Peter Kern stepped down after four years in the role. Gorin spoke to PhocusWire Monday about her priorities for the coming year in an interview that will publish next week, but, of course, finding a new CTO was not on the list at that time.

*This is a developing story and will be updated.