Tripadvisor Announces Departures of CEO Matt Goldberg and CFO Michael Noonan; Names Interim CFO

Tripadvisor has announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Matt Goldberg will depart the company, along with his seat on the Board of Directors, effective February 16, 2027, according to a company announcement distributed via PR Newswire. The same release disclosed that Chief Financial Officer Michael Noonan has notified the Board of his intention to resign to pursue another opportunity, with his departure taking effect December 31, 2026. The company said Kristen Dalton, currently Tripadvisor's Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, will step in as interim CFO beginning January 1, 2027.

What Tripadvisor Disclosed

According to the PR Newswire release, the Board of Directors and Goldberg "have agreed" that he will depart as President, CEO and board member, with the effective date set for February 16, 2027. The same announcement, as reported by StockTitan, states that Goldberg will remain in the CEO role through that date "to help ensure an orderly transition."

Separately, Noonan's exit was framed differently in the company materials: he is said to have "announced his intention to resign as Chief Financial Officer of the Company in order to pursue another opportunity," per the PR Newswire release, with StockTitan's account of the filing citing the same reasoning and an effective date of December 31, 2026.

Jeremy Philips, Chair of the Board of Directors, was quoted in the release thanking both departing executives: "On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Matt and Mike for their leadership. We are grateful for their past contributions, as well as their support over the coming months."

Interim CFO's Background

Kristen Dalton, who will assume the interim CFO role on January 1, 2027, has held several finance and operating positions at Tripadvisor. Per StockTitan's reporting on the company's filing, she served as President of Brand Tripadvisor from January 2024 to November 2025, Chief Operating Officer of Brand Tripadvisor from January 2023 to December 2023, and Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis from October 2019 to January 2023. StockTitan's account lists her age as 54 in the filing.

No Named Successor Yet

One of the open questions surrounding this transition is who might take over as permanent CEO. Based on the evidence available, Tripadvisor has not named any internal or external candidate. The PR Newswire release states only that "the Board is working with an executive search firm to identify candidates to guide the Company through its next chapter," a point echoed by TradingKey's coverage, which described the company as "actively" initiating a search for a permanent successor. No names, shortlists, or timelines for naming a new CEO appear in the sourced material.

What Prompted the Departures

The public materials reviewed do not specify any performance dispute, strategic disagreement, or board conflict behind Goldberg's exit. The language used, that the Board and Goldberg "agreed" he would depart, is consistent with a negotiated separation but does not itself establish a cause. Noonan's departure, by contrast, is explicitly attributed in the company's own language to his pursuit of another opportunity, not to any disagreement with the company.

Interpretation: Taken together, the framing suggests a board-driven leadership change at the CEO level paired with a separately motivated CFO exit, but this is our reading of the available language rather than a disclosed rationale. Readers should treat any assumption about internal conflict as speculative, since no such detail appears in the sourced announcement or in secondary reporting from TradingKey, StockTitan, or Kalkine Media.

Severance and Equity Terms

According to StockTitan's review of the company filing, fifty percent of Goldberg's equity awards that are outstanding and unvested on February 16, 2027, and that would otherwise have vested during the 18 months following his termination, will vest on that date, subject to the achievement of any applicable performance conditions. Kalkine Media's summary described the same terms.

Background on Goldberg's Tenure

Per Wikipedia's Tripadvisor page, Goldberg was announced as the company's new CEO in May 2022, replacing founder Stephen Kaufer, and has served as CEO and president since July 2022. Measured from that July 2022 start, a departure effective February 16, 2027 — the date set out in the company's transition announcement — would amount to roughly four and a half years in the role.

Bottom Line

Tripadvisor has confirmed a dual leadership transition: CEO Matt Goldberg will leave by February 16, 2027, and CFO Michael Noonan will depart by December 31, 2026, with Kristen Dalton stepping in as interim CFO starting January 1, 2027. The Board has engaged a search firm for a permanent CEO but has not named candidates. The company's own materials attribute Noonan's exit to a new opportunity, while Goldberg's departure is described as a mutual agreement without a disclosed cause, leaving open questions about the drivers behind the change at the top.