Darren Huston, CEO and president of The Priceline Group, has resigned after an investigation into a personal relationship with a fellow staffer.
The company says former-CEO and current chairman, Jeff Boyd, will take over the reigns with immediate effect until a replacement is appointed.
Current president and chief operating officer of Booking.com, Gillian Tans, has been named as CEO of hotel giant Booking.com (a role also previously held by Huston).
In a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US, the Priceline Group says Huston resigned "following an investigation overseen by independent members of the board of directors".
Huston will not receive any severance pay.
This probe centred on the "facts and circumstances surrounding a personal relationship that Mr Huston had with an employee of the Company who was not under his direct supervision".
Huston is said to have "acted contrary to the company’s Code of Conduct and had engaged in activities inconsistent with the board’s expectations for executive conduct".
This behaviour has been acknowledged and Huston has expressed his regret, the statement continues.
Huston took over the reins from Boyd in late-2013, two years after joining the company as CEO of Booking.com to replace Kees Koolen.
He arrived at the company with both tech and consulting experience under his belt, having worked for Microsoft and McKinsey.
James Guyette, Priceline Group's lead independent director, says:
"The performance of the business under Darren has been strong, and the company is very well-positioned to continue executing on its strategy for growth.
"Jeff is deeply familiar with the Company’s strategy and leadership team, which consists of highly accomplished entrepreneurs and seasoned professional executives with long-tenure in the business. We are confident the company is in strong hands while we conduct a search for a new CEO.”
Guyette will oversee the appointment of a successor to Huston.
Prior to moving to the chairman role of the Priceline Group from his CEO position, Boyd was general counsel (2000), chief operating officer (2000 to 2002), co-CEO and president (2002).
Ironically, Huston wrote the introduction to the company's Code of Conduct, explaining its desire to have "legal and ethical standards" for its employees and the way it does business.
The document goes on to explain:
"You must avoid situations where family or personal relationships conflict, or appear to conflict, with your obligation to act in the best interest of the Company at all times.
"Certain personal relationships can interfere with employees’ independent judgment, create employee morale issues, and lead to claims of conflict of interest or even sexual harassment.
"It is the company’s expectation that employees will take personal responsibility to ensure that they do not engage in relationships that disrupt or negatively impact the workplace."
NB: Image courtesy World Travel & Tourism Council/Flickr/Creative Commons