Airbnb has named Pepijn Rijvers as its new chief business officer, with CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky telling employees the executive will start immediately in a role overseeing several core parts of the company’s business.
In an email to staff, Chesky said Rijvers will lead Homes, Hotels, Global Markets, and Enterprise Operations. The appointment comes as Airbnb also reshapes responsibilities tied to employee experience, finance, and communications following the transition of Dave, whom Chesky credited with helping lead the company through major changes over the past eight years.
"I want to start by thanking Dave", Chesky wrote.
Leadership transition
Chesky said Dave had led Airbnb’s financial organization, global business, and employee experience during his tenure, at times holding two of those responsibilities simultaneously.
"Everyone has a superpower. Dave’s is his character, and his commitment to being a team player", Chesky wrote.
He added: "In the eight years since he joined Airbnb, he’s led our financial organization, our global business, and our employee experience – three of the hardest jobs in the company, two of them at the same time."
Chesky said Dave served as CFO for five years and helped Airbnb through the pandemic and its public listing.
"Dave was a steady force through one of Airbnb’s most turbulent and transformational periods. As CFO for five years, he helped us navigate the pandemic – the biggest existential crisis we’d ever faced – and then took us public in one of the most successful IPOs in recent history. Under his leadership, we became a Fortune 500 company, joined the S&P 500, and built a stronger financial foundation for the business. As our first Chief Business Officer, Dave helped set the stage for Airbnb’s next chapter. He built the function that established Hotels as a business, launched Services and Experiences, and began expanding Airbnb beyond homes."
Chesky also pointed to Dave’s work leading employee experience.
"And as head of Employee Experience for the last five years, Dave’s been steady in his commitment to our employees and our culture, always asking what more we could do for the people who work here. I’ve always said that I want Airbnb to be the place where people do the best work of their lives, and Dave has helped us build a company where that’s possible. Airbnb is stronger today than it’s ever been – not because of any single quarter, but because of years of work compounding. Dave’s leadership is a big part of that. I’m grateful for everything he’s done for Airbnb and for each of you."
Chesky said the transition had been in planning for some time.
"Dave and I have been working on his transition and the next steps for his teams for a while. Today, I’m excited to share those plans."
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Rijvers takes over as CBO
Chesky introduced Rijvers as Airbnb’s new chief business officer and detailed his background at Tripadvisor Group and Booking.com.
"Pepijn Rijvers is joining Airbnb as our Chief Business Officer, starting today. He’ll lead Homes, Hotels, Global Markets, and Enterprise Operations."
According to Chesky, Rijvers most recently served as chief business officer at Tripadvisor Group, where he oversaw the consumer businesses, Experiences, and Hotels. Before that, he spent 13 years at Booking.com in senior roles spanning accommodations, supply, marketing, and international growth. Chesky said Rijvers built Booking.com’s homes business, led a major performance marketing operation, and later served as managing director of accommodations. He also said Rijvers helped define the company’s expansion into flights and other parts of the trip.
Chesky directly addressed Rijvers’ Booking.com background in the email.
"Now, you may be asking, "Booking?!" Yes, Booking. Pepijn was one of the strongest operators ever at Booking, and his experience there gave him a clear view of why Airbnb needs to follow a very different path. Booking is an intent platform: people arrive knowing where they’re going and use it to complete a transaction. Airbnb has the opportunity to start much earlier – helping people discover where to go, where to stay, and what to do when they get there. Pepijn believes that by helping people discover what makes a place special, Airbnb can become the most local brand in the world. He cares deeply about design, culture, and innovation, and the more time I’ve spent with him, the clearer it’s become that he has both the operating depth and the soul to be a transformational leader at Airbnb."
Chesky also described Rijvers as an entrepreneur.
"Pepijn’s also a true entrepreneur. He started his first business at 17. When he joined Booking.com in 2008, it was the first time he’d joined a company as an employee. His entrepreneurial mindset shapes how he leads. He can move from the 50,000-foot question of why we’re doing something all the way down to the smallest details of how it works. He stays close to the team at all levels and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty."
As part of the broader reorganization, Chesky said Partnerships will move to Hiroki, while Corporate Development & Strategy will move to Finance and report to Ellie.
Employee Experience reorganization
Airbnb is also dividing the work previously under Dave’s employee experience responsibilities instead of hiring a single replacement, Chesky said.
"The future of the Employee Experience team"
"This team’s work impacts every person at Airbnb, from your first interaction with the company to how you grow, contribute, and build a career here. It’s ultimately about bringing out the best in people, which matters more, not less, than ever in the age of AI."
"Rather than bringing on one backfill for Dave, we’re organizing the teams around where the work fits best."
Fallon O’Connor will take on an expanded role leading Recruiting, Talent, and Belonging & Development, which Airbnb said will together become its People organization.
"Fallon O’Connor will lead Recruiting, Talent, and Belonging & Development. Together, these teams will become our People organization. Fallon will join Eteam as Head of Communications and People. They will continue to be two separate functions."
Chesky said O’Connor’s long tenure and role in shaping Airbnb’s culture made her the right choice.
"Recruiting, talent, and belonging are the machinery by which culture gets built. They belong with a leader who knows the culture best. Fallon is the right person for this work because few people understand Airbnb’s culture, or have shaped it, as deeply as she has. Over 11 years at Airbnb, Fallon has built an exceptional Comms organization, as well as one of the most tenured teams at the company. Her direct reports alone average a decade of tenure. It takes a certain type of person to grow senior leaders who stay at one company for more than 10 years. There’s a lot to learn from that as we continue to build out leadership at Airbnb."
He also praised her work broadening the communications function.
"Fallon has also expanded the definition of what Communications means at Airbnb – and at the same time, the Comms team redefined what Airbnb means to the world. The Comms team consistently pushes us to think differently, experiment, and go bigger, while protecting the deeply creative spirit that makes Airbnb special."
Chesky added: "Fallon is a trusted leader, one I’ve partnered with on some of our most significant decisions as a company, and her impact can be felt across Airbnb. Her elevation to Eteam is well deserved, and I’m excited to see her bring her leadership and commitment to excellence to our People team."
Finance takes on additional teams
Chesky said Performance & Rewards and Workplace Operations will move under Finance and report to Ellie Mertz.
"Performance & Rewards and Workplace Operations will report to Ellie Mertz"
"The teams responsible for performance, compensation, and rewards, as well as our workplaces and real estate, will join Finance and report to Ellie. Ellie is similarly one of our most tenured leaders. She’s worked with me longer than any other executive (besides Nate), and she’s passionate about making Airbnb exceptional."
He said those teams already worked closely with Finance.
"Ellie oversees how we invest Airbnb’s resources, and investing in our people and the places where they work is one of our most important responsibilities. The Performance & Rewards and Workplace Operations teams already work closely with Finance, and bringing them together will make that partnership even tighter."
Chesky said the teams led by O’Connor and Mertz would continue to collaborate.
"Fallon and Ellie’s teams will continue to work closely together to elevate the employee experience for everyone at Airbnb."
Closing the note, Chesky linked the changes to Airbnb’s broader evolution as a company.
"As I talked about at CEO Q&A, we continue to evolve as a company – how we execute, how we’re organized, and how we set ourselves up to do our best work. I’m really excited about the leaders we have in place and how these changes will help us deliver on our vision. Please join me in welcoming Pepijn to Airbnb, congratulating Fallon and Ellie, and thanking Dave for everything he’s done."
Brian