Darren Huston
{{short description|Canadian businessman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Darren Huston
| image = Darren Huston.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Darren R. Huston
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|1|3|df=y}}
| birth_place = Hope, British Columbia, Canada
| death_date =
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| education =
| alma_mater = Trent University
University of British Columbia
Harvard Business School
| occupation = Founder and CEO of BlackPines Capital Partners
| years_active =
| title =
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| parents =
| spouse =
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}}
Darren R. Huston (born 3 January 1966) is a Canadian businessman. He is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of BlackPines Capital Partners.{{Cite web|url=https://www.accesswire.com/773192/ese-announces-the-sale-of-a-70-interest-in-gameaddik-in-an-all-cash-transaction-retaining-a-strategic-30-interest|title=ESE Announces the Sale of a 70% Interest in GameAddik in an All-Cash Transaction, Retaining a Strategic 30% Interest}} Huston was previously president and CEO of Priceline and Booking.com.
Early life
Darren R. Huston was born on 3 January 1966 in Hope, British Columbia, Canada. He completed his high school education at the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy,{{cite web|title=UWCAD Alumni Profile: Darren R. Huston|url=https://www.uwcad.it/en/r15740?UrlBack=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudXdjYWQuaXQvZW4vMTUwOTYvQWx1bW5pLVByb2ZpbGVz&sNodeFragFilter=16135|website=UWC Adriatic|accessdate=14 March 2016}} received a BS in economics from Trent University, an MA in economics from the University of British Columbia, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.{{cite web|title=Darren R. Huston|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/10/06/darren-r-huston.html|website=CNBC|date=6 October 2014 |access-date=3 July 2015}}
==Early career==
From 1990 to 1992, Huston was an environmental policy adviser for the Canadian government. From 1994 to 1998 he held an executive position with McKinsey & Company. From 1998 to 2003, he was a senior vice president at Starbucks. During his time with the company, he introduced Wi-Fi in physical stores and the development of the Starbucks Card payment system.{{cite journal |title=Priceline's CEO on Creating an In-House Multilingual Customer Service Operation |url=https://hbr.org/2016/04/pricelines-ceo-on-creating-an-in-house-multilingual-customer-service-operation |journal=Harvard Business Review|date=April 2016 }}
He joined Microsoft in 2003 and was corporate vice president for the United States until 2005 when he became president and CEO of Microsoft Japan. From 2008 to 2011, Huston was corporate vice president of global operations, responsible for its consumer and online business.https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-how-did-i-get-here/darren-huston.html How Did I Get Here?
Later career
He joined Booking.com as CEO in September 2011, and dually became CEO of its parent company Priceline Group in January 2014.{{cite web|title=Executive Profile: Darren R. Huston|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=754957&ticker=MSFT&previousCapId=2183998&previousTitle=Kroll%2520Associates%252C%2520Inc.|website=Bloomberg|accessdate=3 July 2015}} He resigned in April 2016 following an investigation into a relationship with an employee.{{cite press release|title=Priceline Group CEO Darren Huston Resigns; Chairman Jeffery H. Boyd Appointed Interim CEO|date=28 April 2016|accessdate=4 May 2016|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/priceline-group-ceo-darren-huston-resigns-chairman-jeffery-h-boyd-appointed-interim-ceo-300259053.html|publisher=The Priceline Group|agency=PR Newswire}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/priceline-ceo-huston-resigns-after-relationship-with-employee |publisher=bloomberg.com|title=Priceline CEO Resigns After Relationship With Employee – Bloomberg|work=Bloomberg |accessdate=10 September 2016}} During his tenure, the company tripled its number of room nights booked and increased its employee base to more than 15,000 people.{{cite web |last1=Schaal |first1=Dennis |title=Verdict on Priceline CEO's Strategy Is Muddled by His Abrupt Ouster |url=https://skift.com/2016/04/29/analysis-verdict-on-priceline-ceos-strategy-is-muddled-by-his-abrupt-ouster/ |website=Skrift |date=29 April 2016}}
In May 2016, Huston formed BlackPines Global Advisors, N.V. By January 2017, Huston was appointed executive chairman of Allegro and established a consultancy relationship with BlackPines Capital. He was appointed chairman of Magento. By June 2017, BlackPines Capital Partners, Inc. was reincorporated in Canada.{{Cite web|url=https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/allegro-eu-announcement-of-intention-to-float-on-the-warsaw-stock-exchange-812363639.html|title=Allegro.eu: Announcement of Intention to Float on the Warsaw Stock Exchange|website=www.prnewswire.co.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackpinescapital.com/|title=BlackPines Capital Partners|website=BlackPines Capital Partners}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Booking Holdings}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:People educated at a United World College
Category:University of British Columbia alumni
Category:Harvard Business School alumni
Category:Trent University alumni
Category:Canadian chief executives