Brian Chesky Siblings: Getting to Know Allison Chesky
Brian Chesky PHOTO/The Information
Brian Chesky is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Airbnb, the global hospitality platform that has transformed the way people travel and experience new places.
Born on August 29, 1981, in Niskayuna, New York, he grew up in a modest household where creativity and empathy were central values.
Chesky has built a reputation as both a visionary entrepreneur and a designer at heart, leading Airbnb from a small startup idea to a company that connects millions of hosts and guests across more than 240 countries and regions.
Siblings
Brian has one sibling, a younger sister named Allison, who is approximately five years his junior.
The two grew up close in their family home in upstate New York, sharing a childhood filled with imaginative play such as building forts and mapping out territories together.
Allison pursued a career in fashion editing and has worked as a fashion editor at Real Simple magazine.
Their parents, Deborah and Robert Chesky, were both social workers who emphasized values of compassion, empathy, and helping others.
Career
Chesky’s career path began with a passion for art and design rather than business.
After showing early interests in hockey, drawing, and redesigning everyday objects like sneakers, he attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in industrial design in 2004.
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It was at RISD that he met his future Airbnb co-founder, Joe Gebbia.
Following graduation, Chesky worked briefly as an industrial designer in Los Angeles before moving to San Francisco.
In 2007, facing high rent costs, Chesky and Gebbia came up with the idea of renting out air mattresses in their apartment to conference attendees.
This simple concept evolved into AirBed & Breakfast, later rebranded as Airbnb, with the addition of co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk.
Chesky became CEO in 2010 and has guided the company through explosive growth, multiple funding rounds, regulatory challenges, and a successful initial public offering in 2020.
Under his leadership, Airbnb expanded beyond accommodations to include experiences and long-term stays, emphasizing belonging and community.
Chesky has also focused on design thinking within the company, embedding his creative roots into its culture and product development.
Accolades
In 2015, Chesky was named to the Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people and included on Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40.
That same year, President Barack Obama appointed him as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.
Chesky has also been honored as one of Fortune’s World’s Greatest Leaders and has received awards such as the ICON Award from Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration in 2022.
He joined The Giving Pledge in 2016, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes, and has made significant philanthropic contributions, including a $100 million gift to the Obama Foundation.