Executive who launched Airbnb in Europe to head up wine app Vivino

The man who headed up the rollout of Airbnb across Europe is to take the reins at wine app, Vivino.

Olivier Grémillon is to become CEO at the free-to-use wine app and online marketplace, which allows users to scan the label of a bottle and learn everything about it, including a rating based on data amassed from its over 50 million users.

In late July Grémillon will take over from Vivino’s co-founder, Heini Zachariassen, who has led the company since it started out in 2010. Zachariassen is to stay on as a board member.

Grémillon worked at Airbnb for six years, leading on the rollout of Airbnb across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, after spending three years in charge of global expansion for Booking.com.

The wine purveyor said he will be based at its Copenhagen HQ, and "will lead Vivino’s global expansion and marketplace growth".

The appointment comes after the app, which also has a core office in San Francisco, raised $155 million in a Series D funding round in February, and it sees a growing online customer base. Vivino says it sold $265million worth of wine in 2020, with UK revenues up 114% year-on-year.

Online wine sales currently account for around only 3% of the $380 billion industry, according to Vivino, and bosses have said target growth markets will include the US, Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, and Portugal.

Investors include Swedish firm Kinnevik, with backers also including Sprints Capital, GP BullHound, and Creandum.

Grémillon said: "This is the perfect moment to join Vivino... Now is the time to lead the revolutionary change taking place in wine buying habits."

Zachariassen said: “As this past year clearly shifted consumer habits to purchasing more wine online, it felt like the right time to bring in a new leader with the skills and experience to take our business to the next stage in its development and accelerate our growth from where we are today."