Carl G. Shepherd co-founded HomeAway with CEO Brian Sharples, and during the first 11 years of the company’s history, served as both Chief Operating Officer (2005-2007), Chief Strategic and Development Officer (2005-2015) as well as a member of the board of directors until the company’s sale to Expedia, Inc. in December 2015. He was primarily responsible for business development and key partnerships, and was the driving force behind HomeAway’s acquisition strategy, negotiating and closing 22 acquisitions and investments during his tenure.
For six years, Shepherd served as the COO and Chief Development Officer of Hoover’s Online. An internet powered new entrant into the tired world of business information, Hoover’s developed into a leading source for business information online, culminating in an IPO in 1999 and the eventual sale of the company to Dun & Bradstreet in March 2003.

His career began as a consultant, working for what is now Accenture, and establishing a practice based in the advertising industry. He also served as CFO of magazine publishers Texas Monthly, Inc. (Austin, Texas) and Hanley-Wood, Inc. (Washington D.C.). Shepherd holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration (Advertising) from Texas Christian University and an MBA (Finance) from the University of Texas at Austin.
Shepherd has invested and serves on the board of two privately held travel companies based in Austin, Turnkey Vacation Rentals and OnceThere.com, and is an investor Tritium, LLC (Austin), Chef’d, Inc. (Los Angeles) and Shelfbucks, Inc. (Austin).
Shepherd and his wife Suzanne have three sons, Connor, Kevin and John Eamonn (“Jack”). Jack Shepherd has Down syndrome, and the Shepherds are active advocates for people with intellectual disabilities.