Priceline.com appoints new CEO

E-commerce firm Priceline.com tapped former Citicorp president Richard Braddock as its new chairman and chief executive officer, hoping a big name with extensive experience in brick-and-mortar businesses can help the company take off.

Priceline was recently awarded a patent for its e-commerce system, which allows consumers to name their price for goods and services. Just a week ago, the company announced it had sold more than 50,000 leisure airline tickets in a four-month span. This month, Priceline also received $20 million in second-round financing from General Atlantic Partners.

Braddock's appointment was announced by Priceline founder Jay Walker, who will become the company's vice chairman. Walker is also chairman and CEO of Walker Digital, the intellectual property laboratory that invented Priceline's e-commerce system.

Braddock is also an investor in privately held Priceline.com, and serves on the company's board of directors. He has extensive experience managing a range of consumer-driven businesses, including technology-intensive ventures, and has held a variety of senior executive positions at Citicorp from 1973 to 1992, including president and COO of Citicorp and its principal subsidiary, Citibank, N.A., from 1990 to 1992.

"[Braddock] has the tools and the experience to build on Priceline.com's already impressive sales growth," Walker said.

Braddock has also been involved in such technology-oriented companies as Lotus Development and E*Trade, where he is on the board of directors.

"My early association with Priceline.com convinced me that this is a major new business opportunity," Braddock said. "Priceline.com represents an entirely new business model, combining an innovative use of the Internet with one-on-one marketing to offer unique and distinctive benefits to both buyers and sellers who participate."