
Pierre-Olivier Lepage is the CEO and co-founder of Cruisebound, a New York-based digital-first cruise booking platform he launched in 2022 after struggling to book his own first cruise online. A Polytechnique Montréal engineering graduate who earned dual MIT master's degrees in Transportation and Operations Research, Lepage previously built operations at Rocket Travel (a Booking Holdings company) and consulted at McKinsey before betting that the $66B cruise industry — where 80% of bookings still flow through travel agents — was ripe for a tech-native overhaul. Cruisebound has since raised $37.8M in total funding, serves customers averaging nine years younger than typical cruisers, and routes 42% of support queries through AI, positioning itself as the fastest-growing national online cruise agency.

Xola is a San Francisco-based SaaS platform that provides enterprise-grade booking, marketing, and operations software for tour operators and activity providers. Founded in 2011, Xola helps over 1,200 businesses in the tours and activities industry manage reservations, process payments, automate marketing, and grow their operations — all from a single cloud-based platform. With integrations across Google, Groupon, Expedia, TripAdvisor, and 75+ other apps, Xola brings enterprise-caliber tools to an industry that has historically been underserved by technology.