Erik Blachford
Founder
Pine5 Ventures
About Me
Erik was the second CEO at Expedia, then CEO of IAC Travel, managing Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotwire, and Classic Vacations.
He was CEO of Butterfield & Robinson, CEO of TerraPass, and Exec Chairman at Couchsurfing, then a Venture Partner at TCV.
Erik serves on boards including Zillow Group, HipCamp, Busbud, Fora Travel, Joy Life, DCbel, and the ATTA, and owns Camp Nominingue, a wilderness summer camp in Quebec.
Experience
-
Erik was the President and CEO of IAC Travel, managing all of IAC’s travel assets including Expedia, Hotels.com, and Hotwire. Erik joined IAC with its acquisition of Expedia, a former TCV portfolio company, where he served as President and CEO. In 1995 Erik helped establish Expedia within Microsoft, where he led the creation of the brand as SVP of marketing, later served as the President of Expedia North America, and ultimately was named President and CEO in 2003.
Erik has also served as Executive Chairman of Couchsurfing, a hospitality exchange and social networking website, as CEO of Butterfield & Robinson, a world leader in top quality active travel, and as CEO of TerraPass, a leading retailer of carbon offsets, consumer energy efficiency products, and green gifts. Erik serves on the boards of several TCV portfolio companies, including SiteMinder, TourRadar, Varsity Tutors, and Zillow. He is also a board member of GlassDoor, Peloton, Choose Energy, and Liftopia.
Has Spoken At
Wednesday, October 30 2019 | 09:30 AM
Tools for Tomorrow’s Operator
How travelers experience a tour, an attraction or activity and the ways in which operators can deliver those experiences are changing rapidly. In this first-time session at Arival, we feature…
Wednesday, September 26 2018 | 13:00 PM
Our Future: Reading the Tours, Activities & Attractions Tea Leaves
This venture investor, former CEO of Expedia and one-time CEO of adventure touring company Butterfield & Robinson shares his take on the future of our amazing marketplace.