NORWALK, Conn., April 28 (UPI) -- Priceline CEO Darren Huston resigned on Thursday after having an affair with a fellow employee.
A statement issued by the Connecticut-based company said Huston had "engaged in activities inconsistent" with the online travel company's code of conduct for which "he expressed regret."
The move follows an in-house investigation conducted by independent board members into his "personal" relationship with someone said not to be under his direct supervision.
Canadian-born Huston is married and has children. He met his wife, Clarissa, when they were students at Trent University in Ontario in the 1980s.
He was replaced immediately by the company's chairman Jeffery Boyd, who will serve as interim CEO and president while the board launches a search for a permanent successor.
Boyd has been with Priceline for 16 years and led the company between 2002 and 2013 as president and CEO.
Gillian Tans will become Booking.com CEO, another position Huston held; she has been Booking.com's chief operating officer since September 2011 and its president since January 2015.
A former Microsoft executive, Huston had been CEO since January 2014. He was paid $22 million in total compensation in 2014, including a base salary of $750,000 and $14 million in stock awards.
Shares of Priceline, which also owns Kayak, OpenTable and Rentalcars.com, slipped less than 1 percent on Thursday following the announcement.
