Mike Xenakis currently works as an Adjunct Lecturer in Entrepreneurship for the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Prior to his teaching job, he served as Managing Director of Europe at OpenTable, Inc. He was responsible for operations in the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland. Before running the European business Mike also served as Senior Vice President of Product Management at Opentable, Inc. He spent over 16 years with Opentable and was part of the executive team that took the company public in 2009 and ultimately sold to the Priceline Group in 2014. Mike joined Opentable from The Clorox Company, where as an associate marketing manager he managed the P&L and directed marketing efforts for 10 product lines in the Armor All division. Before Clorox he served for six years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force and held the position of captain. During his military career, he served as a flight commander at the 6931 Electronic Security Squadron in Crete, Greece and as an intelligence staff officer at the National Security Agency in Washington DC. While stationed in Washington DC, he was selected to represent the Air Force as a White House military social aide. He served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of BCA Marketplace PLC from September 2014 until March 2015. He currently serves as an advisor to Knock Rentals in Seattle and M Restaurants in London. Mike holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Venture Lab - SF Immersion is designed for students interested in pursuing a job in a venture capital firm or a growth-stage startup. We place students in an internship with a venture-related firm or a growth-stage startup in the San Francisco Bay Area. All students will be required to complete 300 hours of work with the firm over the 10 weeks of the quarter. In addition to the work required by the firm for the internship, students will spend time visiting with local companies and firms while building out a network. We will place an emphasis on tapping into the Kellogg alumni community and assisting fellow classmates in navigating the unique business and venture culture of the Bay Area. The instructor will base students' grades on internship performance, networking activity, team participation, and an end of quarter retrospective.
The course is only offered in the San Francisco Immersion Program and is required of all students who are selected into the Program. Placement at a firm or company will involve assistance from the career center, program manager, and faculty advisor.
