Travis Katz

GM & VP, Shopping YouTube

Travis Katz is a seasoned technology executive, entrepreneur, and investor known for scaling global businesses. He joined YouTube as General Manager and Vice President for Shopping in August 2024. At YouTube, he is bringing eCommerce to the platform’s more than 2 billion monthly users, helping brands succeed and creating new monetization avenues for Creators. Previously, Travis was the founding CEO and President of BrightDrop (now part of General Motors) – a software-centric electric vehicle manufacturer focused on decarbonizing last-mile delivery. Travis scaled the business from zero to triple digit millions in revenue, growing the team from 10 to 1600 people across 5 offices. Prior to BrightDrop, Travis served as Vice President, Product for Skyscanner, a $4 billion online travel company, where he led double digit growth across web and mobile platforms. Travis was the Founder and CEO of Trip.com, an online travel company, which he led from inception through a successful exit in 2017. Trip.com was one of the first companies to incorporate AI to drive personalization in travel, reaching more than 60 million travelers, and was named one of the 50 Best Internet Sites by Time Magazine. Before Trip, Travis led the global expansion for MySpace. During his tenure, Travis launched the MySpace businesses in 30 countries and scaled revenue from zero to nearly $100 million. He also formed joint ventures with Softbank in Japan, and pioneered a new model for western companies to enter China. Travis was a co-founder of Fox Interactive Media, News Corp’s digital arm, where he led strategy, and served high tech clients at McKinsey & Company and served as Entrepreneur in Residence at Redpoint Ventures. Travis holds a BSc from Stanford University, an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, and is an advisor and investor in the technology space.