Netflix appointed Airbnb chief financial officer Ellie Mertz to its board of directors on Tuesday while rejecting the resignation of lead independent director Jay Hoag after shareholders voted against reappointing him to the board.
Hoag, an early investor in Netflix, was not reelected to the company’s board at its annual shareholder meeting on June 5, with votes representing 78% of shares against him. Hoag, who had only attended 50% of board meetings in 2024, “offered his resignation from the board, conditioned upon board acceptance,” Netflix said in its 8-K filing.
In that filing, Netflix disclosed that the board’s nominating and governance committee “recommended that the Board reject Mr. Hoag’s resignation offer,” saying that the venture capitalist “remained engaged with the Company and Board activities by attending meetings with senior management, engaging in pre-Board meeting memos, and helping to set agenda topics for meetings.”
“Mr. Hoag’s continued service as a member of the Board is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders,” Netflix wrote. “The Board determined that his absences in 2024 did not indicate a lack of commitment to his duties, noting that Mr. Hoag possesses an otherwise exemplary attendance record. Mr. Hoag’s attendance rate was 97% in the five years prior to 2024.”
Mertz’s board appointment marks her return to Netflix after rising to the position of vice president of finance during her initial tenure at the company from 2006 to 2013. After that, Mertz moved to Airbnb, where she became CFO in March 2024. A graduate of Stanford and Columbia, she currently serves on the boards of DoorDash and Faire Wholesale.
“We are very pleased to welcome Ellie Mertz to the Netflix board,” said co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. “Ellie’s tenure at Airbnb, combined with her deep understanding of Netflix, makes her uniquely positioned to contribute to our strategic vision. Her experience as a public company finance professional and leader will be invaluable as we accelerate innovation and continue to entertain the world.”
“I’m honored to be joining the board of Netflix, a company that played a formative role in my career,” said Mertz. “I’ve always held a deep respect for Netflix’s product and culture, and I look forward to working with the team to continue scaling the business and delighting consumers globally.”
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