San Francisco, California, United States, December 2025 — Deborah de Vries has started a new role as Head of Talent, Business & Experience at Airbnb, where she will lead the strategy and execution of global talent, organizational design, and employee experience initiatives. In this role, she is responsible for aligning people strategy with business priorities, shaping the end-to-end employee journey, and enabling Airbnb’s mission of belonging through human-centered workforce practices.
In her new role at Airbnb, Deborah de Vries oversees talent architecture, leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and employee experience design at a global scale. Working closely with executive leadership, she translates business strategy into scalable people solutions, ensuring that culture, performance, and growth are deeply interconnected across Airbnb’s global workforce.
Prior to joining Airbnb, Deborah served as Vice President, Strategy M&A & Family Advisory at The Heritage Group, where she worked with a fourth-generation family-owned enterprise managing a diverse portfolio of operating companies. In this role, she contributed to long-term strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and leadership advisory initiatives, supporting sustainable growth and organizational continuity.
Earlier, she held the role of Chief Learning & Experience Officer at Walton Enterprises, where she was responsible for executive learning, leadership development, and curated learning experiences for individuals and families. Her work included executive coaching, large-scale learning programs, and the design of immersive leadership and development initiatives.
Deborah also brings deep experience from her tenure at IDEO, where she served as Senior Portfolio Director, Organizational Design, partnering with organizations across sectors to redesign strategy, structure, and systems using human-centered design principles. She has additionally held senior leadership and organizational development roles at Medidata Solutions, JetBlue Airways, Citi, and Oliver Wyman, where she led global talent management, leadership development, organizational transformation, and diversity initiatives across complex, fast-growing enterprises.
About Airbnb
Airbnb was founded in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests into their San Francisco home. Since then, it has grown into a global platform with more than 5 million hosts, enabling over 2 billion guest arrivals across nearly every country in the world. Airbnb connects people to unique stays, experiences, and services that foster meaningful connections with local communities.
The company is driven by a belief that anyone can belong anywhere and continues to build a global ecosystem that empowers hosts, guests, and communities through trust, creativity, and human connection.
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