# Expedia Group CEO: Ariane Gorin โ€“ Ambition, Manifesting, & Taking the Job Nobody Wanted An episode of [The Gstaad Guy Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1815806949), 25 Oct 2026, 51 min. Audio: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/GGQ9553379534.mp3 The Gstaad Guy sits down with Ariane Gorin, CEO of Expedia Group, and one of the few people running a company of that scale who was once told plainly that her ambition would make her unhireable, to explore what it takes to hold your nerve when the quality that makes you good is read as a threat. With a career built across Berkeley, Paris, London and Seattle, Ariane reflects on adapting to a culture that will not adapt to you, betting on yourself when a room has already decided what you are, and the quieter work of knowing what you want before you ever say it out loud. The conversation dives into manifesting as a practice rather than a slogan, why the roles nobody else wants are so often the ones worth taking, and how you hold a startupโ€™s speed inside a company of fifteen thousand people. Ariane makes the case for expanding the pie rather than dividing it, for building a business that creates value on both sides of a marketplace instead of sitting in the middle of it, and for a purpose simple enough that everyone from the engineer to the lawyer can see their part in it. A grounded look at ambition, leadership, and an industry that exists because of what people choose to remember. Filmed at The Londoner in London. (00:00) Intro ๐ŸŽ™๏ธโœจ (02:34) Thirteen Years To CEO ๐Ÿชœ๐Ÿ† (03:33) A Household Name Of Household Names ๐Ÿท๏ธโœจ (05:19) The Brands Under The Group ๐Ÿงณ๐ŸŒ (07:11) A Berkeley Girl, Not A Hippie ๐ŸŽ“๐Ÿ˜ (08:29) Twelve Months Became Thirteen Years โœˆ๏ธโณ (08:52) Eight AM In Paris, Empty Office ๐Ÿฅ๐Ÿ›๏ธ (10:37) They Didnโ€™t Fit Me In A Box ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ’ก (12:05) Immigrant Of Love ๐Ÿ’˜๐ŸŒ (12:48) A Bird Without Wings ๐Ÿ•Š๏ธ๐Ÿ’ญ (13:23) Too Ambitious To Hire ๐Ÿ’ผ๐Ÿ”ฅ (15:11) On Manifesting ๐Ÿ”ฎโœจ (17:53) She Wants Your Job ๐Ÿข๐Ÿ˜ (21:49) Fourteen Days Versus Twenty Eight ๐Ÿ–๏ธโš–๏ธ (23:06) Euro Curious Americans ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ (25:44) Families, Pets And Travel ๐Ÿ“ธโค๏ธ (26:34) How Expedia Started ๐Ÿš€๐Ÿ’ก (29:44) Holding Company To Platform ๐Ÿ”—๐Ÿ“ˆ (31:57) What Partners Actually Get ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’Ž (34:35) Expand The Pie ๐Ÿฅงโœจ (35:57) The AI Question ๐Ÿค–๐Ÿ’ก (38:34) The NASA Janitor ๐ŸŒ™๐Ÿงน (40:54) Nobody Else Wanted That Job ๐Ÿ“ˆ๐Ÿ’ช (42:22) Killing The Bureaucracy ๐Ÿงนโšก (44:06) Why He Left Apple โœจ๐ŸŽ (47:19) ร€ La Poubelle vs. Fantastique ๐Ÿ—‘๏ธโœจ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.