JOE GEBBIA

Co-Founder,

Airbnb & Samara

Joe Gebbia is an entrepreneur and designer. He co-founded Airbnb in 2007, the hospitality company that helped four million hosts welcome more than one billion across the globe. Gebbia’s contributions helped shape Airbnb’s brand to become a part of everyday life and common vernacular.
Gebbia has also founded Airbnb.org, a community-powered non-profit, whose mission is to offer housing in times of crisis. Their emergency response efforts have housed over 300,000 people during natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the global refugee crisis. Gebbia has recently departed his full-time operating role and has since transitioned to a strategic advisory position while serving on the board of directors of both Airbnb and Airbnb.org. His latest venture, Samara, specialises in factory-made homes designed to create rental income, house a family, or support work-from-home life.
Gebbia is also a member of the San Antonio Spurs investor group and a Giving Pledge signatory where he backs the Eames Institute for Infinite Curiosity, The Ocean Clean Up, Malala Fund, and Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.
Gebbia graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) where he earned dual degrees in Graphic Design and Industrial Design. He serves on the RISD Board of Trustees, Olympic Refuge Foundation, and leadership council for the Malala Fund.
Gebbia has spoken globally about design and entrepreneurship at TED, WIRED, Business of Fashion, the 2021 Index Design Awards, SXSW and more. He also served as a jury member for the White House Millennium Council's 2021 National Design Awards presented by Cooper Hewitt and the Smithsonian Design Museum. He has further been named in BusinessWeek’s Top 20 Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs, Inc. Magazine’s Thirty-under-Thirty, Fortune’s Forty-under-Forty, and was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People.