Booking Holdings, the parent company of Agoda, announced a significant change in the leadership of its subsidiary. The current CEO, John Brown, will step down, and his role will be assumed by Omri Morgenstern from July 1, 2022. Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings, expressed his gratitude for Brown’s contributions to the company’s success and growth during his tenure.
Morgenstern has been a part of Agoda since 2014, starting as a senior product owner for algorithms and learning systems. His impressive performance led to his promotion as the Chief Product Officer and later as the Vice President of Product Development. Prior to joining Agoda, Morgenstern co-founded Qlika, an online marketing optimization start-up, which was acquired by Booking Holdings in 2014.
Brown’s career at Agoda spans nearly a decade, holding various roles including Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Product Officer, before becoming CEO in June 2018. Before his time at Agoda, Brown served as the Advisor to the Minister of Commerce in Afghanistan under USAID and was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group. His diverse experience also includes a stint as a volunteer coordinator for small and medium enterprise development in Lithuania.
Brown’s educational background includes a stint at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2002 and Yale University from 1986 to 1990. Despite the interest in his personal life, details such as his age remain undisclosed and he does not have a Wikipedia page. However, his biographical details are available on various other platforms.
After Brown’s departure, Morgenstern steps into the CEO role while the current CEO of Agoda, Robert Rosenstein, will become the Chairman of Agoda and serve as a special advisor to Glenn Fogel. Before joining Agoda, Brown was a principal at the Boston Consulting Group and advised the Afghan government’s minister of commerce and industry on economic matters.
Agoda’s journey began in Singapore in 2005, founded by Rosenstein and Michael Kenny. They were schoolmates who went on to create successful enterprises before merging them to form Agoda. The company was acquired by Booking Holdings, then known as The Priceline Group, in 2007. Agoda expanded its reach with the release of mobile apps for iOS and Android in 2011 and further broadened its marketing systems after integrating the Qlika team in 2014.
