Global experience enhanced CEO Ariane Gorin’s leadership skills

Working and doing business across borders increases empathy and develops leadership traits few other experiences can match.

[Images: Expedia, Whatever/Adobe Stock]

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning.

Last week’s Modern CEO made the case that boards and recruiters should stop focusing on CEO candidates’ résumés and start evaluating their potential for agility. That said, one aspect of work history can serve as a good proxy for the ability to manage uncertainty and change: international experience.

“Leaders who have global exposure tend to develop sharper instincts for adapting in different contexts, taking in information effectively, and making business decisions based on these different inputs,” says Jeff Sanders, vice chair and co-managing partner of the global CEO & Board of Directors Practice for Heidrick & Struggles. New research from the executive search firm shows that one in five Fortune 500 companies—the largest enterprises in the U.S. by revenue—appointed CEOs with cross-border experience in 2025. More than a third of external candidates named to the top job last year worked internationally. “They’ve already had to respond to complexity in real time—and that kind of experience becomes increasingly valuable as global conditions continue to evolve and shift,” Sanders adds.

Charting new territory

Ariane Gorin, CEO of Expedia Group, credits her global experience with helping to shape her leadership style. Gorin spent 23 years in Europe: 13 years in Paris and 10 years in London, where she held several senior positions at Expedia before becoming CEO of the Seattle-based travel technology company in May 2024. “The biggest thing is you’re out of your comfort zone,” she says of working abroad.

Gorin, who is fluent in French, notes that speaking a language is different than doing business with others in that language. “You’re just always a little bit uncomfortable,” she says, adding: “It also forces you to listen more.”

Working abroad also fosters empathy, another quality recruiters call out as a trait they seek in future CEOs: “I spent my first 11 years at Expedia in Europe [working with colleagues in America], and I will never forget what it feels like to be the only one who’s on the late-night calls,” Gorin recalls.

Perhaps not surprising for a CEO whose company facilitates travel, Gorin also believes in the importance of geographic diversity in her leadership team. The president of Expedia Group B2B is based in Madrid, and the chief commercial officer is in London. “I think if your leadership team is all in the same place, it certainly makes it easier to get things done, but you can start to have a myopic view,” she says.

Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin on Turning AI Into a Competitive Advantage

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