Future Travel Trends

The PhoCusWright Conference brings together the industry's best companies and content in a setting that stimulates millions of dollars in deals.

The PhoCusWright Conference, your periscope to the future.

« See all the speakers

Brian Sharples

Co-Founder and CEO, HomeAway Inc.

Sharples co-founded HomeAway with Carl Shepherd in February 2005. Since then he has raised more than $405 million and acquired 13 Web sites to create the worldwide industry leader in vacation rentals and alternative accommodations.

He led HomeAway through its first national advertising campaign, which launched during Super Bowl XLIV. The ad was highly successful and ranked in the top five Super Bowl ads most likely to inspire customers to try the product, according to Allen & Gerritsen’s Meaningful Messages Super Bowl Ad Survey. With Sharples at its helm, this year HomeAway also acquired BedandBreakfast.com and ventured into the South American market with the acquisition of the leading site in Brazil, AlugueTemporada.com.br.

Sharples is the former president and chief executive officer of IntelliQuest Information Group, a supplier of marketing data and research to Fortune 500 technology companies. While there, he pioneered the development of subscription-based statistical research services and electronic survey systems. He also completed two successful public offerings and the subsequent sale of the company.

An expert in technology brand strategy, Sharples has counseled several leading companies, including Apple, Microsoft and Dell. He also created the IntelliQuest Brand Tech Forum Conference, which became an industry-leading symposium, and served as a consultant at Bain & Company early in his career.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in math and economics from Colby College and a master’s degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.