Show notes
1990 Penn State grad Mike Xenakis has had quite an adventure - from entering the Air Force to helping build OpenTable and guiding it through both an IPO and acquisition to joining Vacasa, a vacation rental company, just prior to the pandemic. Join Mike as he shares his wisdom and key lessons along the way, including his decision to choose Penn State over Notre Dame. Jump right into: (3:34) - Going into the military after Penn State(4:55) - Vacasa’s unique offering (7:26) - Seventeen years at OpenTable(11:09) - Selling OpenTable to Priceline(13:37) - Living and working abroad(15:51) - The role of Chief Product Officer(19:12) - The impact of the pandemic (24:29) - The importance of networking (27:01) - Student takeaways from Mike’s entrepreneurship course at Northwestern University(28:20) - Lions Den presented by Lions-Pride.com: Penn State Experience(28:38) - Student Question of the Episode presented by The Daily Collegian: Choosing Penn State over Notre DameLearn more about Vacasa at Vacasa.com.Show off your Penn State pride with the latest apparel and gear by visiting Lions-Pride.com.Keep up with all the Penn State news at Collegian.PSU.edu.Join Penn State's network connecting students and alumni at Alumni.PSU.Edu/LionLink.Lion Legacy is a Baroudeur Production and is not affiliated with Penn State University. Visit us at LionLegacyPodcast.comSpecial thanks to StudioPodSF.com for their support.