How Skyscanner enters new markets

This week, Tech in Asia Jobs shares insights into how successful companies operate, hire, and more.

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I immediately recognized the Skyscanner office upon stepping out from the elevator. Decked in its familiar blue, pink, green and grey theme, it looked exactly like every other Skyscanner office I’d seen online.

But unlike the others, Skyscanner’s Singapore office is their regional headquarters, and is where a lot of the magic happens to bring the UK brand to its Asia-Pacific counterparts. In Singapore alone, the team reports solid revenue growth and a 40 percent visitor growth year on year.

I spoke to Paul Whiteway, senior director and head of growth for Asia, to find out more about Skyscanner’s development in the region.

Skyscanner’s expansion to APAC

Skyscanner landed on Singapore’s shores in 2011, when its business was picking up in Asia.

Since then, its Singapore office has flourished into a 100-strong team, including the Growth, Commercials, and Product teams — the three pillars that unlock growth in their markets.

“As the regional HQ, we have a very diverse team based in Singapore,” said Whiteway. “We have teams from the local countries who are responsible for growth in their markets. My job is to help them be successful. This involves managing and working with teams to help them define and execute the strategy for growth in our markets.”

“I act like a chef by finding the right recipe and mix for a market, coordinating the resources, timing the execution, getting the resources and ingredients, and removing blockers,” he added.

Organisational structure

Unlike traditional corporations, Skyscanner is organized into cross-functional teams or squads.

Entering new markets

Challenges of localisation

Case study: Korea

Areas for improvement

Hiring