Expedia Hires Google Travel Advertising Director Rob Torres
Photo Caption: Rob Torres, pictured above backstage at Skift Global Forum 2018, left Google and now works for Expedia.
Skift Take
The pandemic waylaid Expedia Group's 2019 vow to reduce its reliance on advertising through Google. If Expedia seeks to resume working on that goal, it now has a key member of Google's travel advertising leadership to help lead the effort.
Expedia Group for several years has been trying to reduce its dependence advertising on Google to gain customers, and Expedia has signed on Google's managing director of advertising and marketing to plot strategy.
Expedia Group announced Monday that Rob Torres has been appointed as senior vice president Media Solutions, which is its travel advertising program. He replaced in that role Wendy Olson Killion, who left for "personal reasons," according to a spokesperson for Expedia.
Torres worked for Expedia prior to his more than 15 years at Google, as vice president of strategic accounts. In that role from 1999 to 2006, he worked "closely with hotel partners," Expedia stated.
In a Skift interview Monday afternoon, Torres was asked what seemed like a sudden job
