Overview
- Booking Holdings announced the leadership change on Tuesday, elevating Peer Bueller from CFO/COO to CEO.
- Steve Hafner becomes executive chair of Kayak and takes a new Booking Holdings role focused on AI innovation, with details not disclosed.
- Bueller, Kayak’s CFO since 2016 and COO since 2021, said he will prioritize user experience, app affinity, and turning strategy into results.
- Booking recorded a $457 million impairment on Kayak in October 2025, citing lower expected cash flows and higher acquisition costs.
- Hafner previously linked the pressure to Google search changes and AI Overviews, and Skift reported he had explored a take‑private bid that Booking’s CEO rejected.