Skyscanner has appointed its current chief operating officer (COO), Bryan Batista, to the role of CEO.
Batista will take over from current CEO John Mangelaars on June 1.
Batista joined the flight metasearch platform as COO in January 2024, having previously held leadership positions at Tesla and Booking.com and acting as CEO of Rentalcars.com and senior vice president of its trips business unit.
“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,” Batista said.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
“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 travelers. We are breaking into new markets, adding new products and smarter tools to make travel planning part of the adventure, not the admin.”
Mangelaars has been in the role since January 2021, joining the company following seven years as head of United Kingdom online travel agency group Travix International. After passing the torch to Batista, Mangelaars said he plans to pursue new ventures.
“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,” Mangelaars said.
“I have enormous confidence in Bryan’s leadership and determination to take Skyscanner forward in the next stage of its ambitious growth.”