Double-Longhorn Belinda Johnson — BA ’88 and JD ’91 — was announced today as the first-ever Chief Operating Officer of Airbnb, the global start-up superstar currently valued at $31B. The news was made public this morning by Airbnb founder and CEO Brian Chesky, on the Airbnb website. “The COO is one of the most critical positions in any company,” wrote Chesky. “Belinda has a track record of making Airbnb run better. We’re a better company because of Belinda’s leadership.”
Johnson had previously worked at Yahoo for more than a decade, joining Airbnb as general counsel in 2011.
You can read the full Airbnb announcement — detailing not only Belinda Johnson’s appointment but also a series of other high-level moves — on their company blog, here. Business news outlets covered the story of Johnson’s appointment extensively, including reports from CNBC and CNET.