Orser Lecture featuring Dave Stephenson, CFO of Airbnb

Dave Stephenson, chief financial officer of Airbnb, will present “How Stakeholder Capitalism Enabled Airbnb to Thrive During and After the Pandemic,” at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 in the Procrastinator Theater on the Montana State University campus. The talk is free and open to the public.

Stephenson will discuss how Airbnb used the principles of stakeholder capitalism to navigate challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. He will share insights into key decisions that were made from the beginning of the pandemic when the company lost 80% of its revenue to when the company went public and reached a valuation of over $100 billion.

As CFO, Stephenson oversees Airbnb’s global finance and employee experience functions. He is responsible for the company’s financial management; planning and reporting; accounting; taxes; investor relations; and its business development teams, among others. He also oversees recruiting, talent and leadership development, compensation and benefits, and enacting Airbnb’s plans for employees to live and work anywhere.

Prior to Airbnb, Stephenson spent 17 years at Amazon, where he was vice president and CFO of the company’s worldwide consumer organization. He was CFO of Amazon’s international consumer business and led finance across many areas of the company, including Amazon Web Services, North American retail and merchant services.

Stephenson received a bachelor’s degree in industrial and management engineering from MSU in 1990 and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Iowa in 1998. He is an Airbnb host in Washington state.

The David B. Orser Executive Speakers Forum is a component of a program begun in 1988 by David B. Orser, a 1966 MSU graduate and retired business executive, to bring business leaders to the college to inspire students to pursue careers as innovative, responsible, and ethical business leaders. Information about this series can be found at https://www.montana.edu/busine....