Board of Directors

Francis Davidson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sonder. He is the visionary behind Sonder's charge to revolutionize hospitality by offering impeccably designed spaces powered by seamless modern technology — all at an attainable price point. Under his leadership, Sonder has scaled globally across 40+ top-tier cities in 10 countries. Despite trying times for the hospitality industry, his leadership during the pandemic resulted in over 200% growth from 2019-2022, and after taking the company public in 2022, Davidson has been focused on achieving positive Free Cash Flow. He has been named one of the 100 most powerful people in global hospitality and was included in Forbes' 30 Under 30.

Sonder Board Member since: 2021

From April 1988 to January 2009, Janice Sears served in a variety of positions at Banc of America Securities, an investment bank, including most recently as the Managing Director, Western Region Head in the Real Estate, Gaming & Lodging Investment Banking Group. She concurrently served as the San Francisco Market President for Bank of America, a financial services company. Prior to this, Sears was a Real Estate Economist at both Chemical Bank and Citicorp. She serves on the board of directors at Invitation Homes Inc., a single-family home rental business. Sears previously served on the board of Essex Property Trust Inc., a multi-family real estate investment trust, BioMed Realty Trust, a life sciences real estate investment trust sold to Blackstone Real Estate, and several non-profit organizations and private companies, including The Swig Company, an owner of office buildings in New York and California. Sears holds a B.A. in both Economics and Marketing from the University of Delaware.

Sonder Board Member since: 2016

Nabeel Hyatt joined Spark Capital, a venture capital firm, in February 2012 and currently serves as a General Partner. He has served on the boards of several privately-held companies. From August 2010 to February 2012, Hyatt served as the General Manager of Zynga Inc., a social game developer. Prior to this, from March 2007 to August 2010, Hyatt served as the Chief Executive Officer of Conduit Labs, an early social gaming company he co-founded that was acquired by Zynga. Hyatt studied Computer Science at Purdue University and holds a B.A. in Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Frits Dirk van Paasschen has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, LLC, a hotel company acquired by Marriott International, Inc. Prior to joining Starwood, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Coors Brewing Company from February 2005 to September 2007. He serves on the board of directors at Royal DSM, a Netherlands-based science company specializing in nutrition and health; Williams-Sonoma, Inc., a consumer retail company specializing in kitchen-wares and home furnishings; and Crown PropTech Acquisitions, a special purpose acquisition company. Van Paasschen also serves on the board of directors of several private companies and as an advisor to a global investment firm. Van Paasschen holds a B.A. in Economics and Biology from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Michelle Frymire is a senior executive with 30 years of experience in driving growth and transformation at both public and private companies worldwide. Most recently, Michelle led CWT through the impact of the global pandemic as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the company’s board of directors. CWT is the world’s second largest corporate travel management company serving over 5,500 clients across 140+ countries around the world, including many of the Fortune 500 and the U.S. military and government. Prior to her appointment as CEO in April 2021, she was President and Chief Financial Officer where she oversaw the company’s finance, strategy, technology, human resources and transformation efforts. Michelle played a key role in the company’s successful evolution to the world’s leading digital travel management company, and under her leadership the company navigated the impact of the pandemic, both operationally and financially. She was named to the BTN’s 25 most influential leaders in business travel, listed as one of 7 individuals on BTN Europe’s 2022 Hotlist, and named one of the Top 20 women in Travel and Hospitality 2022 by Women Leading Travel & Hospitality.

Michelle joined CWT in January of 2019 after serving as the Chief Financial Officer and head of M&A for U.S. Risk Insurance Group in Dallas, Texas where she successfully led the company’s finance, M&A, and HR functions culminating in a successful sale of the business from Kohlberg & Company to USI Insurance in 2019. Prior to that Michelle served as the CFO for Service King Collision Repair, a Blackstone and Carlyle backed portfolio company, from 2015 to 2017. She has occupied various executive roles in the travel industry working for some of the worlds’ largest and most well-known travel companies, including American Airlines, Continental Airlines and then Delta Air Lines, ultimately assuming the role of VP of Finance for Delta Airlines in 2001. She then joined Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2005 as the Chief Financial Officer for Starwood Vacation Ownership during a period rapid growth for the organization.

Michelle is a member of the International Women Forum and Chief – both organizations which recognize top female corporate leaders. She was also recognized by D CEO magazine as Dallas CFO of the Year for Large Private Companies. A Texas native, Michelle received her bachelor’s degree from Austin College in Sherman, Texas in Economics and her MBA from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas in Austin. She resides in Dallas, Texas with her husband, their four children, and their four dogs.

Aggarwal served as the Chief Financial Officer at Trulia, Inc., an online real estate company, from November 2011 to February 2015. While at Trulia, he helped take the company public. In 2015, he played a key role in orchestrating Trulia’s sale to Zillow for five times the IPO valuation. Prior to Trulia, Aggarwal held executive and senior finance positions at PayPal, eBay, Amazon, PepsiCo, and Merrill Lynch. Aggarwal currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Lyft, Inc., a transportation company, where he also serves as board chair, and Arlo Technologies, Inc., a home security company. In addition, he currently serves on the board of directors of Thumbtack, Inc., an online marketplace that connects customers with local businesses for their projects, and HomeLight, Inc., a technology platform connecting real estate agents with homebuyers and sellers. Aggarwal holds an MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts from the College of Wooster.

Sonder Board Member since: 2023

Simon Turner has over 35 years of experience in the hospitality and real estate sectors, having held senior executive roles and board seats in both public and private enterprises. In 2017, he formed Alpha Lodging Partners to make selective investments, and to provide strategic and transactional advisory services to hospitality sector companies and investors. From 2008 to 2016, he served as President, Global Development of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, where he was responsible for all global development and real estate transactional activities. Prior to that, he served as a Principal of Hotel Capital Advisers, Inc., a hotel investment advisory firm overseeing Four Seasons and Fairmont brand and property investments in North America and Europe. His past board service has included Fairmont Raffles Hotels International and Four Seasons Hotels. Additionally, Turner previously served as an independent director of ClubCorp Holdings, Extended Stay America, Watermark Lodging Trust, and Steigenberger Hotels. He currently serves as a director of Goldman Sachs Real Estate Income Trust, and Purchase Senior Learning Community.