6 ms·

Expedia Group fired their CTO, Rathi Murthy

59 points by s3r3nity 2y ago

650 2y ago
>In a statement provided to PhocusWire, the company said, “Rathi Murthy, Chief Technology Officer, and Sreenivas Rachamadugu, Senior Vice President, Core Services Product & Engineering, are no longer employed at Expedia Group. This decision is the result of a violation of Company policy. Does this mean they had a relationship
- gnat 2y ago
  What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas.
- dboreham 2y ago
  Doubtful that gets you fired. Something to do with money more likely? Or plotting to start a competitor?
  - ralph84 2y ago
    Soliciting or accepting kickbacks is always a possibility when it’s someone with spending authority.
  - irjustin 2y ago
    Agreed, money has to be involved. Having a CTO and SVP axed in the same statement means rather specific circumstances. Realistically rules out harassment, performance, even "kickbacks". These you would only expect one or the other to be terminated. Whether you agree or not, a company does not want to terminate immediately (she was just on stage as key speaker) two such key positions at the same time in the same department. It's a very large gap in the org that represents a material risk to the business. So their actions have to be so "huge" to match. Stealing, but more likely some form of colluded insider trading. I'd wager that the SVP was helping perform trades of expedia stock on behalf of the CTO. They got caught before the SEC and were fired.
    - sgerenser 2y ago
      My thoughts immediately turned to insider trading as well.
      - maxbond 2y ago
        I don't get why someone at your company would be a natural accomplice (surely their trading is monitored too?), but the timing could make sense. They missed earnings on the 1st and dropped about 15%. Maybe it takes a week to catch them and a week to fire them.
        irjustin 2y ago
        > I didn't get why someone at your company would be a natural accomplice (surely their trading is monitored too?) Pure guessing, but, the employees are likely to trade the stock because of RSU's so the "hiding in plain sight" tactic.
    - ralph84 2y ago
      Having two people involved doesn’t preclude kickbacks, it makes it easier. One of them submits the spending request, the other one approves it, they both share the kickback. People trying to get away with insider trading don’t use someone else at the same company, they use friends or family.
      - irjustin 2y ago
        mmmm grain of salt because I have no details. I'm just having fun now. > Having two people involved doesn’t preclude kickbacks, it makes it easier. One of them submits the spending request, the other one approves it, they both share the kickback. Possible. Maybe the CTO brought in a relationship, maybe AI?, and the SVP caught wind of a kickback and got "cut in" as a result (Lord of War?). Still, I'm not fully convinced because kickbacks, the speed is just too fast. > People trying to get away with insider trading don’t use someone else at the same company, they use friends or family. I wouldn't use friends or family that's what everyone else does and it becomes super obvious to the SEC. Someone within the company is not unlikely to trade the stock. Is my best answer?
hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
Begs Q: A. Did significant unprofessional conduct happen OR B. is this a cheaper than golden parachute excuse form of layoff?
- Uhhrrr 2y ago
  I think the company would lose the inevitable lawsuit if it were B.
  - hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
    Calculated risk. Perhaps they found a sufficiently ambiguous excuse. Most professional workers unwittingly commit technical felonies everyday. See also: Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent 2011, Harvey Silverglate
xyst 2y ago
Some nobodies at a bottom of the barrel Fortune 500 company get shit canned is not news worthy. C-levels get canned all the time yet these 2 get attention. What am I missing?
- nmstoker 2y ago
  "This decision is the result of a violation of Company policy"?
- bobthepanda 2y ago
  Normally the C Suite gets a bunch of flowery handshaking when they leave to not spook investors. Saying they got fired for violating company policy effective immediately and dumping the news on a Friday is highly unusual. Compare the choreographed tone of an article describing the resignation of the AWS CEO. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/14/amazon-web-services-ceo-adam-selipsky-to-step-down.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/14/amazon-web-services-ceo-adam... It’s also the CTO of a tech company.
- meepmorp 2y ago
  We like to gossip about tech companies
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
glenstein 2y ago
>*This is a developing story and will be updated. Hard to know what to say without engaging in the very speculation they are hoping to avoid. But apparently there's more details coming. In the absence of those though, this feels rare to me, for such a thing to either (1) happen at all or to (2) have this degree of visibility. Are high level executives getting fired all the time for violating internal company policies that are something short of being against the law, and we're just not hearing about it? I suspect not, or at least, when they are there is not often press releases about it.
- zdragnar 2y ago
  I've seen execs come and go at several companies. Usually, one is gently but firmly pushed out. The charade of them resigning helps them save face in a job where reputation is important. They are also less likely to speak ill of the company afterwards (especially if a severance of some sort requires silence). Actually outright firing is more rare, since the company loses any leverage over their behavior afterwards. I've seen it happen, but only once.
bedobi 2y ago
ex Expedia employee here I remember the long period of no CEO after the previous one went to Uber and Barry Diller, I think he was chairman of the board, was kinda at the helm eventually there was an all hands where it was announced Peter Kern would be the new CEO his qualifications? "we used to play golf together" the old boys club vibe was next level which is like, ok, it always is, but they weren't even trying to tastefully hide it, they literally just made it clear on the record first thing to be clear, I'm not saying Barry or Peter did a bad job (nor a good one) - as a cog, I usually find C level news and initiatives distractions that merit little attention I do remember though how Barry said Expedia's work life balance was all balance no work and how Peter would phone in all hands from his castle in Colorado where he was spending time with his family to tell everyone how important it was people wound down remote work and started coming in to the office again (AFAIK he himself was very rarely in office in any meaningful capacity) would I call it a well-run company? no, not really, but neither are most other companies, lol. most execs seem to have no better or worse idea what they're doing running a company than the average employee would.
- pram 2y ago
  Yeah I quit Expedia around that time, early 2020. They began this massive reorg merging a bunch of eng from VRBO and Hotels.com and whatever else together haphazardly. I went through 4 different managers under a year. Very “productive” !!!
- jonathankoren 2y ago
  Never say “class warfare”
  - bedobi 2y ago
    I don't think it's conscious or deliberate, these people are literally just completely oblivious to their own privilege even the few who do reach that level from more humble beginnings seem to quickly forget what it was like down there, overestimate their competence and start to look down on the plebs pretty infuriating to be talked down to that way like, you're talking to professional adults with Computer Science degrees here, not some deadbeats off the street lol (not that people on the street deserve scorn either, I'm just being rhetorical)
raincom 2y ago
Does Expedia have a lot of contract work force or offshoring presence? Maybe, kickbacks between these execs and such offshoring companies/staffing companies could be one reason.
jonathankoren 2y ago
So wild that this article got flagged. Wonder why people want to memory hole this. Even Bloomberg is reporting this. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/expedia-cto-senior-engineering-leader-214424191.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/expedia-cto-senior-engineerin...

59 points by s3r3nity 2y ago

650 2y ago

>In a statement provided to PhocusWire, the company said, “Rathi Murthy, Chief Technology Officer, and Sreenivas Rachamadugu, Senior Vice President, Core Services Product & Engineering, are no longer employed at Expedia Group. This decision is the result of a violation of Company policy. Does this mean they had a relationship

gnat 2y ago
What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas.
dboreham 2y ago
Doubtful that gets you fired. Something to do with money more likely? Or plotting to start a competitor?
- ralph84 2y ago
  Soliciting or accepting kickbacks is always a possibility when it’s someone with spending authority.
- irjustin 2y ago
  Agreed, money has to be involved. Having a CTO and SVP axed in the same statement means rather specific circumstances. Realistically rules out harassment, performance, even "kickbacks". These you would only expect one or the other to be terminated. Whether you agree or not, a company does not want to terminate immediately (she was just on stage as key speaker) two such key positions at the same time in the same department. It's a very large gap in the org that represents a material risk to the business. So their actions have to be so "huge" to match. Stealing, but more likely some form of colluded insider trading. I'd wager that the SVP was helping perform trades of expedia stock on behalf of the CTO. They got caught before the SEC and were fired.
  - sgerenser 2y ago
    My thoughts immediately turned to insider trading as well.
    - maxbond 2y ago
      I don't get why someone at your company would be a natural accomplice (surely their trading is monitored too?), but the timing could make sense. They missed earnings on the 1st and dropped about 15%. Maybe it takes a week to catch them and a week to fire them.
      - irjustin 2y ago
        > I didn't get why someone at your company would be a natural accomplice (surely their trading is monitored too?) Pure guessing, but, the employees are likely to trade the stock because of RSU's so the "hiding in plain sight" tactic.
  - ralph84 2y ago
    Having two people involved doesn’t preclude kickbacks, it makes it easier. One of them submits the spending request, the other one approves it, they both share the kickback. People trying to get away with insider trading don’t use someone else at the same company, they use friends or family.
    - irjustin 2y ago
      mmmm grain of salt because I have no details. I'm just having fun now. > Having two people involved doesn’t preclude kickbacks, it makes it easier. One of them submits the spending request, the other one approves it, they both share the kickback. Possible. Maybe the CTO brought in a relationship, maybe AI?, and the SVP caught wind of a kickback and got "cut in" as a result (Lord of War?). Still, I'm not fully convinced because kickbacks, the speed is just too fast. > People trying to get away with insider trading don’t use someone else at the same company, they use friends or family. I wouldn't use friends or family that's what everyone else does and it becomes super obvious to the SEC. Someone within the company is not unlikely to trade the stock. Is my best answer?

hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago

Begs Q: A. Did significant unprofessional conduct happen OR B. is this a cheaper than golden parachute excuse form of layoff?

Uhhrrr 2y ago
I think the company would lose the inevitable lawsuit if it were B.
- hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
  Calculated risk. Perhaps they found a sufficiently ambiguous excuse. Most professional workers unwittingly commit technical felonies everyday. See also: Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent 2011, Harvey Silverglate

xyst 2y ago

Some nobodies at a bottom of the barrel Fortune 500 company get shit canned is not news worthy. C-levels get canned all the time yet these 2 get attention. What am I missing?

nmstoker 2y ago
"This decision is the result of a violation of Company policy"?
bobthepanda 2y ago
Normally the C Suite gets a bunch of flowery handshaking when they leave to not spook investors. Saying they got fired for violating company policy effective immediately and dumping the news on a Friday is highly unusual. Compare the choreographed tone of an article describing the resignation of the AWS CEO. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/14/amazon-web-services-ceo-adam-selipsky-to-step-down.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/14/amazon-web-services-ceo-adam... It’s also the CTO of a tech company.
meepmorp 2y ago
We like to gossip about tech companies
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

glenstein 2y ago

>*This is a developing story and will be updated. Hard to know what to say without engaging in the very speculation they are hoping to avoid. But apparently there's more details coming. In the absence of those though, this feels rare to me, for such a thing to either (1) happen at all or to (2) have this degree of visibility. Are high level executives getting fired all the time for violating internal company policies that are something short of being against the law, and we're just not hearing about it? I suspect not, or at least, when they are there is not often press releases about it.

zdragnar 2y ago
I've seen execs come and go at several companies. Usually, one is gently but firmly pushed out. The charade of them resigning helps them save face in a job where reputation is important. They are also less likely to speak ill of the company afterwards (especially if a severance of some sort requires silence). Actually outright firing is more rare, since the company loses any leverage over their behavior afterwards. I've seen it happen, but only once.

bedobi 2y ago

ex Expedia employee here I remember the long period of no CEO after the previous one went to Uber and Barry Diller, I think he was chairman of the board, was kinda at the helm eventually there was an all hands where it was announced Peter Kern would be the new CEO his qualifications? "we used to play golf together" the old boys club vibe was next level which is like, ok, it always is, but they weren't even trying to tastefully hide it, they literally just made it clear on the record first thing to be clear, I'm not saying Barry or Peter did a bad job (nor a good one) - as a cog, I usually find C level news and initiatives distractions that merit little attention I do remember though how Barry said Expedia's work life balance was all balance no work and how Peter would phone in all hands from his castle in Colorado where he was spending time with his family to tell everyone how important it was people wound down remote work and started coming in to the office again (AFAIK he himself was very rarely in office in any meaningful capacity) would I call it a well-run company? no, not really, but neither are most other companies, lol. most execs seem to have no better or worse idea what they're doing running a company than the average employee would.

pram 2y ago
Yeah I quit Expedia around that time, early 2020. They began this massive reorg merging a bunch of eng from VRBO and Hotels.com and whatever else together haphazardly. I went through 4 different managers under a year. Very “productive” !!!
jonathankoren 2y ago
Never say “class warfare”
- bedobi 2y ago
  I don't think it's conscious or deliberate, these people are literally just completely oblivious to their own privilege even the few who do reach that level from more humble beginnings seem to quickly forget what it was like down there, overestimate their competence and start to look down on the plebs pretty infuriating to be talked down to that way like, you're talking to professional adults with Computer Science degrees here, not some deadbeats off the street lol (not that people on the street deserve scorn either, I'm just being rhetorical)

raincom 2y ago

Does Expedia have a lot of contract work force or offshoring presence? Maybe, kickbacks between these execs and such offshoring companies/staffing companies could be one reason.

jonathankoren 2y ago

So wild that this article got flagged. Wonder why people want to memory hole this. Even Bloomberg is reporting this. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/expedia-cto-senior-engineering-leader-214424191.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/expedia-cto-senior-engineerin...