Airbnb’s new people leader will oversee both HR and communications

Airbnb recently announced it will appoint an executive leader to oversee both people operations and communications.

Fallon O’Connor will serve as the rental booking company’s head of communications and people, according to a Sept. 1 memo from CEO Brian Chesky.

O’Connor, who’s been with the company for 11 years, previously served as VP of global communications, where she built “one of the most tenured teams at the company,” Chesky said, noting her direct reports have been with Airbnb for a decade, on average.

In her new role, O’Connor will oversee both communications and people, which includes recruiting, talent, and belonging and development. The functions will remain separate, Chesky noted. Ellie Mertz, Airbnb’s chief financial officer, will oversee performance and rewards, and workplace operations.

This isn’t the first time Airbnb is including people operations in an executive’s broader purview. Its outgoing chief business officer, Dave Stephenson, was also the head of employee experience for the last five years.

“I’ve spent more than a decade telling the world Airbnb’s story, and I’m so excited to help write that story internally,” O’Connor wrote on LinkedIn following the announcement. “How we show up in the world should be an expression of who we are inside. And starting today, the team and I will make sure that’s what happens.”

Airbnb is among a handful of companies that sees a connection between employee experience and employer branding, as evidenced by this recent appointment. In 2025, HR Brew profiled Melissa DiMuro, who oversees people, culture, and marketing for building systems solutions company Limbach. DiMuro said the company’s senior leaders created her role after they started to recognize “the importance of having holistic messaging and a brand that connected the dots regardless of the stakeholder.”

Conagra Brands, which owns food brands like Slim Jim and Reddi-Wip, announced in August that it was appointing Amy Held to oversee both HR and corporate communications. Merging the two functions was intended to bring “simplicity and accountability” to the organization, CEO John Brase said in a statement. Both Aon and Business Insider similarly have executive leaders serving in dual people and branding or communications roles.

Not all HR leaders are sold on the idea of mixing people with promotional messaging, though. Kris Mrdjanov, global director of people and culture for cloud-based software platform Cin7, expressed skepticism of Airbnb’s new model on LinkedIn.

“Recruiting, development, performance, and rewards are one system,” she wrote. “Dividing their ownership risks separating the employee promise from the employee reality, capability from expectation, and talent strategy from financial strategy.”