{{short description|President and COO of Convoy, former president of the Expedia Group}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Mark Okerstrom | image = In The Hotseat (32586159277).jpg | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|46|2019|09|27}} | birth_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Lawyer, technology executive | alma_mater = {{Ubl| | Simon Fraser University (1995) | UBC Law School (1998; JD) | Harvard Business Sch. (2004; MBA) }} | title = President/COO Convoy | years_active = | known_for = Former President/CEO Expedia Group | notable_works = }}
'''Mark Okerstrom''' (born 1972/1973) is a Canadian lawyer and technology executive in the hospitality sector. He was the president and CEO of Expedia Group until December 4, 2019 when he resigned over disagreements on strategy with Barry Diller and the Expedia board. Mark then joined as president and COO of Convoy until the company ceased core operations and was sold to Flexport.<ref>{{cite news | last = Isidore | first = Chris | title = Digital Startup Convoy Is Winding Down Its Freight Business | url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/digital-startup-convoy-is-winding-down-its-freight-business-e84b987c?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1 | work = Wall Street Journal | date = October 12, 2023 }}</ref> <ref>{{cite news | last = Bishop | first = Todd | title = From 'amazing heights' to sudden shutdown: Read the memo detailing Convoy's collapse | url = https://www.geekwire.com/2023/convoy-collapse-read-ceos-memo-detailing-sudden-shutdown-of-seattle-trucking-startup/ | work = GeekWire | date = October 13, 2023 }}</ref> ==Early life and education== Okerstrom was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is the son of two school teachers.<ref name="seattletimes17">{{cite news |title=New Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom has a hard act to follow |last1=Greenstone |first1=Scott |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/new-expedia-ceo-has-a-hard-act-to-follow/ |work=The Seattle Times |date=September 25, 2017 |url-access=registration |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref>
Okerstrom earned a certificate of liberal arts from Simon Fraser University in 1995, a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia in 1998, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 2004.<ref name="wallstreet18">{{cite news |title=Expedia's Mark Okerstrom on His Quest To Build One 'Incredible Synthetic Mentor' |last1=Higgins |first1=Laine |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/expedias-mark-okerstrom-on-his-quest-to-build-one-incredible-synthetic-mentor-1542981601 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=November 23, 2018 |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref><ref name="psbizjournal">{{cite news |title=CFO of the Year 2014: Mark Okerstrom |last1=Broberg |first1=Brad |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/print-edition/2014/03/14/cfo-of-the-year-2014-mark-okerstrom.html |work=Puget Sound Business Journal |date=March 14, 2014 |access-date=October 18, 2019}}</ref>
==Career== In his early career, Okerstrom was an associate at the law firms Fasken Martineau and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer from 1998 to 2002.<ref name="wallstreet18"/><ref name="Bloomberg-profile">{{cite web |title=Mark D Okerstrom |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/17616623 |website=Bloomberg |access-date=November 22, 2019}}</ref> In 2003, he became an associate at investment bank UBS in London.<ref name="psbizjournal"/><ref name="telegraph18">{{cite news |title=From 'complete failure' to boss of Expedia: Mark Okerstrom on being a travel tycoon |last1=Murphy |first1=Margi |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/12/14/failure-boss-expedia-mark-okerstrom-travel-tycoon/ |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=December 14, 2018 |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref> Okerstrom later became a consultant at Bain & Company in Boston and San Francisco from 2004 to 2006, handling mergers and acquisitions.<ref name="seattletimes17"/><ref name="skift17">{{cite news |title=Expedia's New CEO: Who's Who in Executive Leadership |url=https://skift.com/2017/08/28/expedias-new-ceo-whos-who-in-executive-leadership/ |work=Skift |date=August 28, 2017 |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg-profile"/> Okerstrom was recruited to join Expedia Inc.<ref name="psbizjournal"/> in 2006 as head of Expedia's corporate development and strategy group.<ref name="seattletimes17"/><ref name="wallstreet18"/> He then became Expedia's chief financial officer in 2011 and later served also as executive vice president of operations, and served as the main negotiator in the company's investment stake in Trivago, and led the company's acquisitions of Travelocity and Wotif.<ref name="skift17"/><ref name="wallstreet18"/><ref name="psbizjournal"/><ref name="seattle2017">{{cite news |title=Expedia picks CFO Mark Okerstrom to fill CEO spot |last1=Day |first1=Matt |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/expedia-picks-its-cfo-to-fill-ceo-spot/ |work=The Seattle Times |date=August 30, 2017 |url-access=registration |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref><ref name="telegraph18"/>
In August 2017, Okerstrom became CEO of Expedia, succeeding Dara Khosrowshahi.<ref name="seattle2017"/><ref name="financial18">{{cite news |title=New Expedia chief to step up global expansion |last1=Hook |first1=Leslie |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a426948c-9ca7-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946 |work=Financial Times |date=September 18, 2017 |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref> He also served on the organisation's board of directors.<ref name="Geekwire-04Dec19">{{cite news |title=Expedia CEO and CFO resign in surprise shakeup, as Barry Diller asserts control over travel giant |url=https://www.geekwire.com/2019/expedia-ceo-cfo-resign-surprise-shakeup-barry-diller-asserts-control-online-travel-giant/|access-date=December 4, 2019 |work=Geekwire |date=December 4, 2019}}</ref><ref name="seattle2017"/> Okerstrom led the rebrand of Expedia, Inc. to Expedia Group in 2018.<ref name="telegraph18"/><ref name="skift2018">{{cite news |title=Expedia Tweaks Name After Priceline Rebrand |last1=Schaal |first1=Dennis |url=https://skift.com/2018/03/26/expedia-tweaks-name-after-priceline-rebrand/ |work=Skift |date=March 26, 2018 |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref>
According to the New York Times, Okerstrom was 23rd on the list of the highest paid CEOs of companies with revenues of at least $1 billion for 2017.<ref name="NYT-25May18">{{cite news |title=The Highest-Paid C.E.O.s in 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/25/business/ceo-pay-2017.html |access-date=November 22, 2019 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |date=May 25, 2018}}</ref>
On December 4, 2019, Okerstrom and his CFO Alan Pickerill abruptly resigned from their respective roles at Expedia Group citing disagreements between the board and executives.<ref name="Geekwire-04Dec19"/>
On August 27, 2020, Mark joined Seattle-based digital freight startup Convoy as President, COO.<ref name="Geekwire-27Aug20">{{cite news |title=Convoy hires former Expedia CEO as president and COO as digital freight startup tops 1k employees |url=https://www.geekwire.com/2020/convoy-hires-former-expedia-ceo-president-coo-digital-freight-startup-tops-1k-employees/|access-date=September 23, 2020 | work=Geekwire | date=August 27, 2020}}</ref>
==Personal life== Okerstrom is married and has two daughters.<ref name="wallstreet18"/> ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} {{Expedia Group}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Okerstrom, Mark}} Category:Expedia Group Category:1970s births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Canadian lawyers Category:21st-century Canadian businesspeople Category:21st-century Canadian lawyers Category:Bain & Company employees Category:Businesspeople from Vancouver Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States Category:Canadian expatriates in England Category:Canadian chief executives in technology Category:Chief executives in the hospitality industry Category:Chief financial officers Category:Harvard Business School alumni Category:Simon Fraser University alumni Category:UBS people Category:University of British Columbia alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:People associated with Freshfields