Veteran engineers Roman Fuchs and Simone Basso join newly-appointed CTO Udi Nir to strengthen GetYourGuide’s technology leadership and drive innovation.
BERLIN, 31 July 2018 — GetYourGuide, the booking platform for incredible travel experiences, today announced the appointment of Udi Nir as Chief Technology Officer. Nir joins the company in its Berlin headquarters, where he will be responsible for shaping GetYourGuide’s long-term technology vision. He will be joined at GetYourGuide by a pair of senior engineering hires, Simone Basso and Roman Fuchs.
Nir brings over 25 years of engineering leadership honed in Silicon Valley to GetYourGuide. He most recently served as VP of Engineering at online groceries marketplace Instacart, where he led technology efforts during a period of exponential business growth. Prior to Instacart, Nir was CTO at online fashion retailer ModCloth; VP of Engineering & Co-Founder at unified communications platform Threadsy (acquired in 2012 by Facebook); and Senior Director of Engineering at eBay, which he joined via its 2005 acquisition of Shopping.com.
“My journey in technology has been one of solving marketplace complexities to unlock growth, and GetYourGuide represents the next phase of that journey,” said Nir. “As a marketplace for experiences, GetYourGuide presents an exciting new challenge for me as an engineer; as a high-growth startup with a strong culture where engineers can make a real impact, it’s a dream opportunity for me as a leader.”
“Udi is joining us at an inflection point for technology at GetYourGuide,” added Johannes Reck, CEO & Co-Founder at GetYourGuide. “As we continue our mission to connect travelers around the world with incredible experiences, advancements in technology will enable us to do so in entirely new ways. Udi will set the vision that ensures we capitalize on those opportunities. His proven track record of innovation in engineering and growth mindset make him a perfect fit at the perfect time.”
GetYourGuide’s engineering leadership is further strengthened by the hires of Simone Basso and Roman Fuchs, who have joined Udi Nir’s team in senior roles.
Simone Basso joins GetYourGuide as Director of Engineering, Marketplace from Just Eat, a FTSE 100 (LON: JE) food delivery marketplace. While at Just Eat, Basso built and scaled several core engineering teams over a 6-year tenure, most recently serving as Head of Technology for the company’s 200-person Marketplace Product Development team. Basso has relocated from London to Berlin with his family for the new role.
Roman Fuchs joins GetYourGuide as Engineering Manager from SF-based accommodations marketplace Airbnb, where he was involved in scaling the company’s engineering operations from 30 to over 1000 members over 6 years. Fuchs most recently led engineering efforts for Airbnb for Work, the company’s corporate travel unit. Fuchs has relocated from San Francisco to Zurich, Switzerland for the new role, where will be based out of GetYourGuide’s engineering office and collaborate closely with teams in Berlin.
“We have made two cornerstone hires in Simone and Roman,” said Reck. “Both bring deep technical knowledge of marketplaces, a clear focus on the customer, and a passion for travel. With their expertise and leadership, GetYourGuide’s engineering team will take its game to the next level in creating a seamless discovery and booking experience — ensuring customers love where they’re going.”
GetYourGuide is the booking platform for incredible travel experiences. Powered by a global team of over 400 travel experts, GetYourGuide helps travelers find the best things to do wherever they’re headed — including skip-the-line tickets to the world’s most iconic attractions, walking tours by top local experts, immersive food and beverage tours, cooking and craft classes, bucket-list experiences and niche offerings you won’t find anywhere else. Since its founding in 2009, travelers from more than 155 countries have booked over 15 million tours, activities and attraction tickets through GetYourGuide. The company is based in Berlin, Germany and has offices in 14 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.getyourguide.com.