
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.
Morpho Travel Experience is a Latin American travel-retail and food-and-beverage operator that turns airport corridors, hotels and tourist hubs into theatrical, locally-rooted stores and restaurants. From a single Costa Rican airport shop opened in 2001, it has grown into a roughly US$160 million operation with more than 2,800 employees and 300-plus commercial spaces across 11 countries, built on a 'sense of place' philosophy that puts regional craft, food and culture at the center of the traveler's journey.