Tripadvisor CEO Goldberg to Depart as CFO Noonan Resigns

Tripadvisor announced the management transition on November 5, 2026: Matt Goldberg will depart as president, chief executive officer and a director effective February 16, 2027, while Chief Financial Officer Michael Noonan will resign effective December 31, 2026. A negotiated separation agreement provides Goldberg with $675,000 of salary severance, paid over 18 months, and a separate $675,000 lump-sum bonus-severance payment.

The board determined that a leadership transition was in the best interests of the company and its shareholders, and Goldberg agreed. He will remain CEO through the transition date to support an orderly handover. Noonan notified the board on November 3, 2026 of his intention to pursue another opportunity and will stay through the fiscal year-end to transfer his responsibilities. The board is working with an executive search firm to identify candidates for the company’s next chapter.

Kristen Dalton, currently chief strategy and operations officer, will become interim CFO on January 1, 2027. She joined Tripadvisor as vice president of financial planning and analysis in October 2019, later served as Brand Tripadvisor’s chief operating officer and president, and has held her current role since November 2025. Neither departure resulted from a disagreement with the company over its operations, policies or practices.

Separation Pay and Equity

The separation terms replace, rather than supplement, benefits under Goldberg’s existing employment and severance arrangements. He will not receive an annual bonus for calendar 2026 or 2027, although that exclusion does not reduce the separately specified bonus-severance payment. Tripadvisor will also cover COBRA health-coverage premiums for up to 18 months, subject to timely election and continuing eligibility. The benefits require effective releases of claims and compliance with continuing non-competition, non-solicitation, non-disparagement and confidentiality obligations. Resigning before the scheduled separation date would forfeit those negotiated separation benefits.

The equity terms are more conditional. Half of the eligible unvested portion of each award that would otherwise vest during the 18 months after separation will vest, subject to applicable performance conditions and release requirements; remaining unvested portions are generally forfeited. Company records listed 222,416 restricted stock units scheduled to vest during that period, 44,410 performance stock units from the 2025 grant whose performance period has finished, and 101,085 performance stock units at target whose performance period remains incomplete. Goldberg’s 515,808 options were all vested when the agreement was signed, and vested options and stock-appreciation rights remain exercisable through their original expiration dates.

An Operating Reset During the Handover

The leadership change comes during a strategic reset. In prepared remarks released the same day, Goldberg said Experiences had scaled to nearly $5 billion in gross booking value and now contributes the majority of group revenue. Gross booking value measures the total dollar value of experience bookings before adjustments such as date changes, refunds or cancellations.

The combined Tripadvisor and Viator Experiences teams did not deliver the expected product and marketing efficiencies, according to management. Over the twelve months preceding the remarks, experience bookings through Viator and B2B2C channels grew in the low teens while the Tripadvisor channel declined by high single digits. The response is to concentrate primary investment behind the Viator marketplace, with Tripadvisor continuing as a discovery and partner-lead source.

A restructuring plan initiated November 4, 2026 adds a cost and staffing component to the handover. It cuts 425 employee and contractor roles, approximately 60% of the roles dedicated to Hotels and Other, while shifting about 150 roles to Experiences. Management expects approximately $40 million of group gross annualized savings and a $15 million to $20 million charge in the fourth quarter of 2026, with very little cost benefit during 2026.

The reset follows a weak third quarter: continuing-operations revenue was $436.4 million, down 11%, while a $316.9 million net loss was driven primarily by a non-cash $369.5 million goodwill impairment. Tripadvisor also completed the sale of TheFork effective November 1, 2026, receiving approximately $741 million in net cash consideration. The company currently expects to prioritize long-term debt reduction with the proceeds.

Goldberg closed his remarks by defining his remaining task: “My focus over the coming months will be to deliver on our priorities, support our teams, and ensure that our next CEO inherits a business with operating momentum, motivated talent, and a strong balance sheet.”

The immediate challenge is continuity across two staggered handovers. Dalton takes over finance before Goldberg leaves, while the CEO search proceeds alongside a restructuring whose projected savings and fourth-quarter charge still lie ahead. The next chief executive will inherit a Viator investment shift, a Hotels and Other restructuring and a stated preference for debt reduction. Executing that existing program is the central operational question for the transition.