Skyscanner Appoints New Chief Executive Officer

Graham Turner

14 May 2025, 09.31am

“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,” said incoming CEO, Bryan Batista.

Edinburgh-headquartered Skyscanner has announced the appointment of Bryan Batista as CEO, taking over the role from John Mangelaars. Batista is currently the chief operating officer and will become CEO on the June 1, 2025.

Departing CEO John Mangelaars shares: “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 and pursue new ventures. I have enormous confidence in Bryan’s leadership and determination to take Skyscanner forward in the next stage of its ambitious growth.”

In the last year, Skyscanner experienced, according to the firm, ‘record performances across its travel products, with double digit growth in flights, car hire and accommodation.’

Batista joined Skyscanner in January 2024 as chief operating officer. He previously held leadership positions at Tesla and at Booking.com as CEO of Rentalcars.com and SVP of their Trips business unit.

Since joining, Batista has been instrumental in building and implementing the company’s long-term strategic vision across the company.

Incoming CEO, Bryan Batista commented: “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.

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“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 travellers.

“We are breaking into new markets, adding new products and smarter tools to make travel planning part of the adventure, not the admin.”