Travis VanderZanden.

Travis VanderZanden is the Founder and CEO of Bird, the electric scooter-sharing company that launched the global micro-mobility revolution.

VanderZanden founded Bird in 2017 after serving as COO of Lyft and VP of Growth at Uber, where he gained deep experience in shared transportation and marketplace dynamics. Bird grew at a historic pace, becoming the fastest company ever to achieve a $1 billion valuation-reaching unicorn status in just 14 months. The company deployed thousands of shared electric scooters in cities worldwide, providing affordable, zero-emission transportation for short trips. While Bird faced significant challenges including regulatory battles, operational costs, and ultimately financial restructuring, VanderZanden's creation of the micro-mobility category had a lasting impact on urban transportation. His work sparked a wave of competition and investment in light electric vehicles and changed how cities think about first-mile/last-mile transportation. The scooter-sharing concept he pioneered continues to serve millions of riders globally through various operators.