Belinda Johnson


Belinda Johnson is an American attorney holding a BA and JD from the University of Texas. First joining Airbnb in 2011, she served several roles including chief business affairs and legal officer, and chief operating officer. Johnson also serves on the board of directors at PayPal. She was ranked one of Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women in 2017 and 2018.

Career

Johnson earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991. After her graduation, she spent several years working for law firms in the Dallas area. In 1996, Johnson was hired by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban, co founders of the internet radio streaming company AudioNet as general counsel and a corporate secretary.
In 1999, Broadcast.com was purchased by Yahoo! for $5.7 billion and Johnson relocated to San Francisco Bay Area to serve as deputy general counsel for the tech company. During her tenure at Yahoo, Johnson served as the deputy general counsel for product, litigation and privacy.
In 2011, Johnson left Yahoo and joined Airbnb as the company's general counsel and the first executive hired by CEO Brian Chesky. After serving as general counsel since joining Airbnb, she was named chief business affairs and legal officer in 2015 and was responsible for overseeing compliance, civic partnerships, public policy, communications, philanthropic initiatives, employee experience and legal teams. In 2016, Johnson was named to Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business List. In 2017, the payment company PayPal appointed Johnson to its board of directors, serving on the audit committee.
In 2017, Johnson was included in Elle magazine's fourth annual Women In Tech list. On February 1, 2018, Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky publicly announced that Johnson will become the company's first Chief Operating Officer.
In December 2019, Johnson announced she would be stepping down from her position as COO on March 1, 2020 to spend more time with her family.

Personal life

Johnson lives with her husband, Brent Johnson, a writer and former lawyer, and their two daughters in Redwood City, California.