Airbnb Hires Amazon Prime Head Greeley to Run Homes Business

(Bloomberg) -- Airbnb Inc. hired Greg Greeley, the head of Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime business, as president of its main home-rental unit.

Greeley, who had been at Amazon for more than 18 years, helped the retail giant expand the Prime membership service internationally. On Monday, he announced his resignation on LinkedIn. Airbnb said he will join the San Francisco-based company on March 18.

At Airbnb, Greeley is expected to oversee a slew of new initiatives designed to broaden the startup's appeal. Last month, the company announced that it would begin listing homes that have been vetted for quality similar to hotel offerings. The hotel-like accommodations are called Airbnb Plus. The company says it will also highlight hotel listings on its website.

Airbnb has faced a management shakeup in recent months. In October, chief marketing officer Jonathan Mildenhall resigned. A few weeks later, the head of the company's China business left abruptly after allegations of a romantic relationship with a subordinate. In February, Chief Financial Officer Laurence Tosi, departed following reports of friction with Brian Chesky, Airbnb's co-founder and chief executive officer.

At the time of Tosi's departure, Chesky promoted Airbnb's then chief business affairs and legal officer, Belinda Johnson, to chief operating officer. Tosi had expected to get the COO job after Airbnb's public offering, which Chesky says will not come before 2019. The company said it is seeking Tosi's replacement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Olivia Zaleski in San Francisco at ozaleski@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz, Jillian Ward

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