Who was the CEO of Airbnb in 2020?

Brian Chesky was Airbnb’s CEO in 2020.

Chesky co-founded Airbnb with Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk. The idea began in October 2007, when Chesky and Gebbia hosted three guests in their San Francisco apartment after local hotels filled up during a design conference. The original concept, AirBed & Breakfast, eventually grew into a global marketplace for homes and experiences.

Chesky became Airbnb’s chief executive as the company developed, and he remained CEO throughout 2020. That year was especially demanding: the COVID-19 pandemic brought international travel to a near standstill, forcing Airbnb to cut costs, reduce its workforce and support hosts and guests through widespread cancellations.

Airbnb also completed its initial public offering in December 2020, raising about $3.5 billion on the Nasdaq. Chesky led the company through that transition. The other names in the options were co-founders or leaders of other technology firms: Gebbia and Blecharczyk co-founded Airbnb, but neither was its CEO in 2020.