Airbnb creates new chief business officer role, appoints new chief financial officer

By Doyinsola Oladipo

(Reuters) - Airbnb on Tuesday announced changes to its executive leadership team, including the creation of a chief business officer position as the company looks to expand beyond its core short-term rental business.

The San Francisco-based company has said it is looking to expand beyond short-term vacation rentals and experiences and is laying the foundation for new services and offerings as well as investing in under-penetrated international markets.

Dave Stephenson, who was the company's chief financial officer (CFO) since 2019, has been promoted to the role of chief business officer. Stephenson will drive international expansion, grow global host supply across existing and new businesses as well as lead all business and corporate development activities, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said.

"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," said Chesky.

Stephenson joined Airbnb in 2019 after more than 17 years at Amazon, where he most recently worked as CFO.

Airbnb's vice president of finance Ellie Mertz has been appointed CFO and is expected to transition into the role in February 2024 after the company's earnings call. Mertz has been with the company for 11 years and oversaw the company's IPO in 2020.

Catherine Powell, global head of hosting at Airbnb, will transition into an adviser role and move on from Airbnb later in 2024, the company said.

(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York and Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Mark Potter)