Airbnb EMEA chief Emmanuel Marill jumps to OpenAI as Managing Director
Emmanuel Marill joins OpenAI as Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa from Airbnb, where he spent nearly a decade scaling operations. Image credit: Emmanuel Marill
OpenAI has hired Emmanuel Marill, most recently Managing Director EMEA and ANZ at Airbnb, as its new Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The appointment signals OpenAI's intent to deepen its commercial and operational footprint across the region, one of its largest markets outside the United States.
Marill announced the move on LinkedIn. "I'm really excited to share that I'm joining OpenAI as Managing Director for EMEA", Marill wrote. He continued: "AI has already transformed the way I do my work and how I get more done in my personal life. Across EMEA, people, businesses, developers and entrepreneurs are building, learning and innovating with it every day."
Marill went on to acknowledge the regulatory and ethical weight surrounding AI in Europe. "As the technology advances, and as attention rightly grows on how it is developed and used, I feel privileged to be joining OpenAI at this important time", he wrote. He added that he is looking forward to "bringing my experience building and scaling international operations to OpenAI, to help even more people across the region benefit from this technology."
Marill brings nearly a decade of Airbnb scaling experience to OpenAI
Marill spent nine years and eight months at Airbnb, based in Paris. He joined in September 2016 as General Manager for France and Benelux, was promoted to Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in September 2020, and stepped up to Managing Director EMEA and ANZ in August 2023, serving as Interim Managing Director for Asia from 2023 to 2025.
Before Airbnb, Marill led Financial Services and Automotive Industry at Facebook and Instagram under Meta from March 2014 to September 2016, served as Regional Vice President at Groupon EMEA for three years, and began his career with senior consulting roles at Roland Berger and LVMH Perfumes and Cosmetics, where he managed the Africa and Israel region.
Appointment lands as OpenAI scales European operations
The EMEA appointment comes as OpenAI continues to navigate the European Union's AI Act, the United Kingdom's evolving AI policy positioning, and a growing body of data protection and copyright disputes across the region. EMEA is one of OpenAI's largest non-US markets for ChatGPT and enterprise deployments, and the role will cover commercial strategy, partnerships, public policy engagement and regional operational scaling.
Marill signed off his LinkedIn announcement by writing that "a new chapter begins" and that he "can't wait to get started". OpenAI has not yet confirmed his start date or published details of the leadership team he will inherit across the region.
