Edinburgh-headquartered travel technology company Skyscanner has announced the appointment of Bryan Batista as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective from 1 June 2025.
Batista, who currently serves as Chief Operating Officer, will succeed outgoing CEO John Mangelaars, who is stepping down after four and a half years at the helm. Mangelaars described the company as being in a “great position” and said now was the right time for him personally to step aside.
“I have enormous confidence in Bryan’s leadership and determination to take Skyscanner forward in the next stage of its ambitious growth,” he said.
Batista brings a wealth of global travel and mobility experience to the role, having previously held senior positions at Tesla and Booking.com, where he served as CEO of Rentalcars.com and SVP of its Trips division. Since joining Skyscanner 18 months ago, he has played a key role in shaping and executing the company’s long-term strategic vision.
“Stepping into this role is a dream,” Batista said. “We built Skyscanner because we are travel geeks at heart. I get to lead a company that is on a mission to become the world’s number one travel ally. We are now adding rail and package travel options to that mix – delivering the best deals and widest selection of travel options to our travellers.”
The company, which helps travellers search over 100 billion prices every day across flights, car hire and accommodation, has seen strong momentum in the past year, with all major travel products achieving double-digit growth.
With plans to enter new markets, expand its offering and continue investing in smarter tools, Skyscanner aims to simplify and enhance the planning process for travellers worldwide under Batista’s leadership.
