Meet the Team
Skyscanner employs about 50 people, mostly based in its head office in Edinburgh, with an additional office in Poland.
Gareth Williams, Co-founder and Chief Executive
It was Gareth's frustration with finding cheap flights that lead him to create version one of Skyscanner in 2001; a simple excel spreadsheet that collated flight prices. Now Chief Executive, Gareth's 14 years of experience as a developer for financial institutions and retail companies have helped him make Skyscanner one of the UK's top digital travel companies.
In his limited spare time, Gareth enjoys playing chess moderately, swimming slowly and cooking badly. When it comes to his own travels, his favourite destination is Sydney, Australia. "It's got great restaurants and great wine. The weather is also slightly better than Scotland's".
Barry Smith, Co-founder and Director of Business Development
Barry has been a co-manager of the company from 2001 and became Market Development Director in January 2007. He has 9 years experience as a technical architect having worked with FI Group, SalomonSmithBarney, DLJ and M&S.
In his now rather fleeting moments of spare time, Barry plays rugby, swims and "does the occasional triathlon". His most memorable holiday was a safari on the island of Mnemba, near Zanzibar, Tanzania, a "magical once in a lifetime" destination.
Bonamy Grimes, Co-founder and Product Director
An early interest in computer geekery led Bon to a Computer Science degree at Manchester University. It was here that he met Gareth Williams, (now Skyscanner Chief Executive). Little did they know that their love for MySQL and C++ would lead to them founding one of the best travel sites in the world.
Before co-founding Skyscanner, Bon spent 14 years as a developer, working as a contractor for many high profile clients.
When it comes to his own travels, Bon cites the Singita game reserve in South Africa as his favourite holiday destination, and also has a lot of love for Deia in Palma Majorca.
Les Cashin, VP Development & Operations
Les brings nearly 25 years IT experience to Skyscanner, having spent the last 14 years managing web projects & teams in the financial services sector.
In her spare time Les works as a ski instructor and is particularly keen on adaptive skiing. When she's not on the slopes, she can be found corralling her numerous foster children, bull terriers or chickens. For peace she likes to spend time in her vegetable garden, the mountains of Scotland or the Pyrenees.
Frank Skivington, VP Commercial and Marketing
Joining the Skyscanner team in 2008, Frank has over 15 years experience in senior commercial roles in media / digital media and was one of the founding directors of Scotland's most successful digital media company, s1, from its inception in 2000 up until joining Skyscanner.
Frank likes good food, wine, whisky, rugby, cricket, golf, good books and movies. He dislikes: football, reality TV of any type, every word that Dan Brown has written and all dogs (but particularly spaniels). His favourite places are Tuscany and the north west of Scotland.
Derek Gardner, Chief Financial Officer
Derek is a highly experienced and qualified accountant, having worked for NatWest Equity Partners, Miller Group and Giles Insurance. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Derek now lives in Edinburgh with his wife and two children. His favourite holiday destination is Majorca where he returns every year.
