Airbnb hires Blackstone's Laurence Tosi as CFO

New York

AIRBNB Inc has hired Blackstone Group LP's Laurence Tosi as chief financial officer of the home-sharing startup, filling a position left vacant since Andrew Swain left last year.

"LT's expertise in hospitality and finance is the perfect combination to help take Airbnb to the next level," the San Francisco-based company's CEO Brian Chesky said in a statement last Friday.

Hiring executives from publicly traded companies is often a precursor to an initial public offering for Silicon Valley startups. Airbnb in June was in talks to raise another round of financing at …