Airbnb CFO to move to new role with focus on growth, Brian Chesky says

Airbnb Chief Financial Officer Dave Stephenson, who helped guide the company through Covid-19 tumult and an initial public offering, will transition into a newly created chief business officer role, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said in a Tuesday note to employees viewed by CNBC.

Stephenson’s new position is effective January 2024, the company said. Airbnb’s vice president of finance Ellie Mertz will replace Stephenson as CFO. Mertz’s transition will occur following Airbnb’s quarterly earnings call in February.

Chesky said Stephenson’s new role would also mark an “inflection point” for Airbnb, where the business would begin to focus on growth across existing and new businesses.

“As we expand beyond our core, it will be paramount to have an executive dedicated to our long-term growth plans, and there’s nobody better than Dave to do this,” Chesky wrote in the letter.

“As Chief Business Officer, Dave will be across all aspects of our strategy to expand beyond the core,” Chesky wrote. “This includes driving international expansion, growing global host supply (across existing and new businesses), and leading all business and corporate development activities at Airbnb.”

Stephenson has been with the company since 2018. Before joining Airbnb, Stephenson was finance chief at Amazon’s Worldwide Consumer unit. Stephenson serves on the board of Lyft. Mertz serves on the boards of DoorDash and wholesale marketplace Faire.

Chesky also said that Catherine Powell, a longtime Airbnb executive who previously held various roles at Disney, would initially move into an advisory role before leaving Airbnb “later next year.”

Airbnb was founded in 2007 by Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia.

— CNBC’s Laura Batchelor contributed to this report.

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