Bryan Batista has been appointed as Skyscanner’s new CEO, taking over the role from John Mangelaars.
Batista, currently chief operating officer for the company, part of the Trip.com Group, will take over the reigns on June 1.
He joined Skyscanner in January 2024 but previously held leadership positions at Tesla and Booking.com, where he was CEO of Rentalcars.com and SVP of its Trips business unit.
Since joining, he’s been instrumental in building and implementing the company’s long-term strategic vision across the company, which sees Skyscanner search 100 billion prices every day.
The firm now also has rail and package travel options available in select markets, giving even more choice to travellers planning their next trip.
In the last year, Skyscanner has experienced record performances across its travel products, with double digit growth in flights, car hire and accommodation.
It’s also broken into high growth markets, including India where it expects to double its audience.
Departing CEO, John Mangelaars, said: “After four and a half incredible years, I am stepping down as CEO and passing the baton to Bryan.
“The company is in a great position, and I feel that now is the right time for me personally to make this change and pursue new ventures.
“I have enormous confidence in Bryan’s leadership and determination to take Skyscanner forward in the next stage of its ambitious growth.”
Incoming CEO, Bryan Batista commented, “We built Skyscanner because we are travel geeks at heart. We love the thrill of exploring new places and we hate the pain of planning. Since joining Skyscanner, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with our incredible teams and travel partners.
“Stepping into this role is a dream. I get to lead a company that is on a mission to become the world’s number one travel ally.
“I am excited that we are now adding rail and package travel options to that mix – delivering the best deals and the widest selection of travel options to our travellers.
“We are breaking into new markets, adding new products and smarter tools to make travel planning part of the adventure, not the admin.”
