From Google Vice President, Now James Manyika Also Joins Airbnb As Board’s Chair

On Sept. 11, Airbnb announced that James Manyika, Google’s senior vice president of research, technology, and society, has joined its board of directors, according to a press release. Additionally, he is set to chair the board’s Stakeholder Committee.

“At such a critical point of inflexion for technology and society, I’m inspired by the ways Airbnb has bridged people and cultures all around the world,” Manyika shared in a press statement. “I’m honoured to join the Board of Directors and look forward to working together with the entire Airbnb team to build for the future in a way that benefits hosts, guests and communities everywhere.”

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As Airbnb aims to leverage artificial intelligence (AI), CEO Brian Chesky believes that with Manyika’s background experience and expertise, he’s a leader to follow.

“I’m thrilled that James Manyika is joining our Board. He’s dedicated his career to exploring technology’s impact on society, and is one of the world’s leading experts in AI,” Chesky said. “He started advising Airbnb in 2018 and has been an essential thought partner to me for years.”

He continued, “It’s inevitable that AI will reshape society and have a profound impact on our business. With James joining our Board, we’ll continue to benefit from his guidance as we embark on the dawn of this new technological revolution.”

Prior to Google, Manyika worked at McKinsey for around three decades, the press release details.

According to McKinsey’s website, he “previously led research on global economic and technology trends and served many of the world’s leading high-tech companies on growth, innovation, and strategy.”

Manyika also serves on the board of the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, and on advisory boards at the University of Oxford, MIT, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and Stanford University.