Kayak CEO and co-founder Steve Hafner is stepping down and handing the reins to CFO and COO Peer Bueller, parent company Booking Holdings announced Tuesday.
After more than two decades leading the metasearch engine, Hafner will become executive chair of Kayak and also take on "a new leadership role at Booking Holdings," focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.
"Steve pioneered the metasearch category with the launch of Kayak and delivered industry-leading results for Kayak for many years, since our acquisition of the brand in 2013," said Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel.
Hafner said it’s the right time to hand responsibility over to Bueller, calling him "indispensable" to Kayak’s success.
Bueller joined Kayak in 2016 as the company’s CFO, taking on additional responsibilities as COO in 2021. According to Booking Holdings, his focus has been on expansion, growing Kayak for Business and pushing commercial innovation.
"As CEO of Kayak, I will continue to focus on making Kayak everyone's favorite travel app, while raising the bar on our user experience and turning our strategy into results. We see a lot of opportunity ahead, and we're well positioned to pursue it," Bueller said.
Kayak was founded in 2004 by Hafner and co-founder Paul English, who stepped down in 2013.
Hafner sat down with WiT’s founder and editor Yeoh Siew Hoon at The Phocuswright Conference in 2024 to reflect on 20 years of Kayak. Watch the full discussion below.
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