Board of Directors

Ulrik Bengtsson – Chairman

Ulrik Bengtsson was appointed Chairman of the Company and Chairman of the Nomination Committee on 10 October 2024, having joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate in May 2024. Ulrik has extensive online platform and digital consumer services experience, having served previously as Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Virgin Media O2, CEO and Executive Director of William Hill plc, CEO of Betsson Group, and as CEO with Emerging Markets and Swedish divisions of Viasat Broadcasting.

The following key external appointments are currently held by Ulrik: Chair of the Board and Remuneration Committee of Raketech Group Holding plc, and Chair of the Board of Game Nation.

Gary Morrison – Chief Executive Officer

Gary was appointed as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Hostelworld Group plc in June 2018.

Gary was the former Senior Vice President and Head of Retail for Expedia. He was also the former Director of Despegar (NYSE DESP), AirAsiaExpedia and Voyages SNCF.

Gary has also held positions of Head of Global Sales Operations for Google’s Online Sales Channel and VP and Head of Product Management for Motorola’s Smartphone division. He has also held consulting and engineering roles at General Electric, Booz Allen and Hamilton and Schlumberger France.

Caroline Sherry – Chief Financial Officer

Caroline was appointed as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Hostelworld Group plc in December 2020. Caroline is chair of the ESG Steering Committee at Hostelworld.

Caroline joined Hostelworld as Group Financial Controller in November 2019. Prior to this, she was the former Director of Financial Planning and Analysis for Glanbia’s Performance Nutrition division. Caroline has extensive financial management experience through strategic and commercial finance roles held at Ulster Bank Group DAC, a subsidiary of NatWest Group.

Éimear Moloney – Non-Executive Director

Éimear was appointed as Non-Executive director of Hostelworld Group plc in November 2017. Éimear is Chair of the Audit Committee and was the designated Workforce Engagement Director until December 2023.

Éimear has extensive financial services experience through senior investment manager roles in Zurich Life Assurance (Ireland) plc, senior positions with Bankers Trust Funds Management Ltd in Australia and with Crow Horwath Chartered Accountants.

The following key external appointments are currently held by Éimear: Non-Executive Director of Kingspan Group plc, Irish Continental Group plc and directorships with Chanelle Pharmaceutical Group.

Carl G. Shepherd – Non-Executive Director

Carl was appointed as Non-Executive director of Hostelworld Group plc in October 2017. Carl is the Board’s Senior Independent Director.

Carl was previously the co-founder, founding Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategic and Development Officer of HomeAway Inc. He was also a Board member of Turnkey Vacation Rentals, Inc. and previous Chief Operating Officer and Chief Development Officer of Hoover’s Online.

Evan Cohen – Non-Executive Director

Evan was appointed as Non-Executive director of Hostelworld Group plc in August 2019. Evan is the designated Workforce Engagement Director with effect from December 2023.

Evan was the former Regional Director for Lyft’s US East Coast business, Chief Operating Officer at Foursquare, and held senior strategic consulting and operational roles at Bebo, Jupiter and MTM.

The following key external appointments are currently held by Evan: Owner of EVCO Advisory Services.

Paul Duffy – Non-Executive Director

Paul was appointed as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee in May 2024. Paul is an experienced Chairman and Chief Executive Officer with extensive knowledge of the consumer and leisure industry and brings significant strategic and brand experience, having served previously as Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard North America. Paul also served as director of Corby Spirit and Wine Limited, a leading Canadian marketer and distributor of spirits and wines listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Paul is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

The following key external appointments are currently held by Paul: Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair of Glanbia plc, Non-Executive Director of W.A. Baxter & Sons, a UK food processing group and Chairman of Irish Children’s Museum CLG.