Former Expedia executive Aman Bhutani is the new leader of website hosting giant GoDaddy, taking over from CEO Scott Wagner, who is stepping down for health reasons.
“GoDaddy’s extraordinary focus on constantly innovating and improving for its entrepreneurs has built a devoted and rapidly growing customer base. I look forward to working closely with everyone at the company to seize the vast opportunities that lie ahead,” Bhutani said in a statement.
GeekWire first reported that Bhutani left his post as Brand Expedia Group president last week, but his reasons weren’t clear at the time.
Wagner became GoDaddy’s CEO in 2017 after then-CEO Blake Irving, a former Microsoft and Yahoo executive, retired following a 5-year run.
“It has been a great privilege to lead GoDaddy and to have grown with the company for almost eight years,” Wagner said in a statement. “Aman brings a wealth of experience to GoDaddy – an extraordinary track record in growing a scaled business, deep expertise in product and engineering, and strong delivery across go-to-market. Aman is an exceptional leader, and has created strong followings in every organization he’s led.”
Bhutani’s decision to leave Bellevue, Wash.-based Expedia came amid other organizational and executive changes at the company, which are aimed at helping the travel giant’s brands take better advantage of the company’s scale. Bhutani oversaw Expedia’s online travel businesses including Travelocity, Orbitz and the flagship Expedia brand.
“It is hard to capture in words the incredible impact Aman has had here over the years — as a technology leader, as the leader of Brand Expedia Group and as a thought leader across Expedia Group,” said Mark Okerstrom, Expedia Group CEO and president, in an emailed statement last week.
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based GoDaddy maintains a large engineering office in Kirkland, Wash. that was established in 2013.
GoDaddy shares were down in after-hours trading following its second quarter earnings report and the new CEO announcement. The company posted $737 million in quarterly revenue, beating estimates.
