This article first appeared in Boston Business Journal, a sister publication of BostInno.
Needham-based TripAdvisor Inc. is adding Jay Hoag, a co-founder of venture capital firm Technology Crossover Ventures, to its board of directors.
Hoag has been on the board of directors for Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) since 1999, on the board of Zillow Group Inc. (Nasdaq: Z) since 2005, and on the board of Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: EA) since 2011. Hoag becomes TripAdvisor's ninth board member.
"(Hoag) is a well-known business leader and highly respected by the other board members who—along with Steve—thought he’d make a great addition to the team," a TripAdvisor spokesperson said in an email.
The appointment comes amid an extended stock price decline for TripAdvisor (Nasdaq: TRIP) and a major organizational restructuring at the travel company.
Last month, TripAdvisor CEO Steve Kaufer sent a memo to employees detailing management changes and the creation of several new business units, according to travel-industry news site Skift. As part of the changes, TripAdvisor Chief Marketing Officer Barbara Messing and Senior VP of Sales Robin Ingle will leave the company in April. Among other changes, the memo detailed TripAdvisor's plan to turn its long-established hotel reviewing and booking business into its own division to spark revenue growth.
Slow growth in the hotels business has been a key factor behind TripAdvisors slumping stock, which is down more than 30 percent from a year ago. The company's market valuation dropped by more than $1 billion after its most recently quarterly earnings report in November.
A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicates Technology Crossover Ventures bought just under 2.3 million shares of TripAdvisor stock on Jan. 31. That represents about 1.6 percent of TripAdvisors outstanding shares and makes TCV one of the company's top 20 largest shareholders, according to data from Thomson Reuters.
Hoag will join the board's compensation committees and will be paid $65,000 per year plus a stock grant worth $250,000.
