Priceline Board of Directors Announces Board Changes; Chairman to Retire in January

The Board of Directors of priceline.com Incorporated

announced today that Jeffery H. Boyd, President and CEO, will assume the additional role of Chairman of the Board, effective January 1, 2013. Mr. Boyd will succeed Ralph M. Bahna, who will retire from the Chairman's role on January 1, 2013, and intends to retire from the Board in June of 2013, when his current term ends. Mr. Bahna, who participated in the formation of priceline.com and has served as Chairman of the Board since April 2004, is a longtime executive veteran of the travel industry. In addition to priceline.com, he has served as Chairman of Masterworks Development Corp., a company he founded in 1992 that developed the Club Quarters hotel group. He also served as the CEO of Cunard Lines, Ltd., and the Cunard Group of Companies. Prior to Cunard, Mr. Bahna was employed by Trans World Airlines, Inc., where he developed and launched its highly successful Ambassador Service. "Ralph Bahna has been instrumental in providing outside guidance for the foundation and growth of the Priceline Group into the business it is today," said President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffery H. Boyd. "We thank him for his service to the Board as Chairman, and we look forward to his further counsel as a priceline.com Director." The Board also named current Director James M. Guyette to serve in the newly created role of Lead Independent Director, effective January 1, 2013. Mr. Guyette has been a Director of priceline.com since November 2003, and is currently a member of the Compensation Committee and Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Guyette is currently Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rolls-Royce North America Inc. Before joining Rolls-Royce, he served as Executive Vice President – Marketing and Planning for United Airlines. Mr. Guyette is also the Chairman of the Board of PrivateBancorp Inc. The Board stated that it combined the roles of Chairman and CEO as an interim structure that best accomplished continuity of leadership in view of Mr. Bahna's upcoming retirement from the Board and its long-term succession planning. At the same time, the Board ensured the appropriate exercise of independent judgment by the Board through the appointment of a Lead Independent Director. A description of the responsibilities of the Chairman of the Board and Lead Independent Director can be found on priceline.com's Investor Relations site, ir.priceline.com.