Matteo Sarzana

Matteo Sarzana is Airbnb Country Manager for Italy and Southeast Europe. Manager with more than 20 years of experience in foxglove, in Platform Economy And in B2C business scaling in Italy, he oversees operations and guides the company's growth strategy in key markets in the Mediterranean area, with particular attention to expanding the tourist offer beyond art cities and consolidating Airbnb's presence in villages and rural locations. In 2006 he became Team Leader of Team Alfa, the WPP team dedicated to Alfa Romeo, managing their communication first in Italy and then at a global level. In 2008, after an experience in the United States, he returned to Italy to lead the launch of VML, the digital agency of the WPP group, taking it from scratch to a team of more than 35 professionals and acquiring clients such as Costa Crociere, Barilla, Ford, Microsoft, Vodafone, Danone and Colgate.

Driven by the desire to innovate, he attends the Singularity University In Silicon Valley, a study program focused on training the professionals of the future. The experience proved to be decisive: he decided to leave the world of agencies to dedicate himself to startups And it arrives like General Manager Europe into Zooppa, a platform created within H-Farm which offers an alternative communication model based on a network of more than 300,000 crowdsourced creatives. In October 2015 it brought Deliveroo in Italy - when the Food delivery It practically didn't exist in the country - and it led its expansion for almost ten years like General Manager. Under his leadership, the company grew from 4 employees to more than 160, expanding the service to more than 1,700 Italian cities and building an ecosystem that involves more than 21,000 partner restaurants and supermarkets. Over the years he also plays the role of President of Assodelivery, the Italian association of the food delivery sector.

As of March 2025, Airbnb Announce his appointment to Country Manager for Italy and Southeast Europe. Among the main challenges: driving the growth of widespread tourism - almost half of travelers in Italy already use Airbnb to visit villages and rural locations - and seize opportunities related to Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, of which Airbnb is official worldwide partner. It is estimated that, in conjunction with the event, stays on Airbnb will generate a positive economic impact of 154 million euros. He is the author of “Economy app” (Egea, 2016), a book that explores the birth and impact of mobile applications on the economy and society, published in collaboration with Talent Garden and the Bocconi University publishing house.