Skift Take

Eric Breon grew Vacasa from a business run off his dining room table to North America’s largest full-service vacation rental management business. Few startups have the awareness to know when they need different leadership to get to an initial public offering, and Vacasa may be a rare exception.

Vacasa‘s board of directors has hired headhunters to find a replacement for CEO Eric Breon. They have chosen Matt Roberts, former OpenTable CEO and current independent director on the Vacasa board, as interim CEO.

Since founding Vacasa in 2009, Breon has led day-to-day operations at the vacation rental property management service. He’s helped the company raise a total of $526.5 million in private equity funding — more than any other startup of its category. Breon will stay on Vacasa’s board of directors.

“As we look to the tremendous growth opportunity ahead, we’re seeking the best long-term CEO to lead the large and dynamic organization that Vacasa has become,” Breon said in a statement.

Since founding Vacasa in 2009, Breon has grown the organization substantially to more than 25,000 homes under management. Last year, the company bought Wyndham Vacation Rentals. In 2020, Vacasa aims to generate more than $500 million in net revenue.

Breon will participate in the search for a new CEO, which will be led by headhunter firm Russell Reynolds, the company said.

In October the company raised investment led by Silver Lake. Vacasa has signaled in various ways that it sees debuting on the public markets as the best possible exit for investors.

Breon hinted as much on-stage at Skift Global Forum 2019 in New York.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awTimLAXxQU]

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Tags: ceos, short-term rentals, vacasa, vacation rentals

Photo credit: Vacasa founder and CEO Eric Breon spoke with executive editor Dennis Schaal at Skift Tech Forum in San Francisco in June 2019. Vacasa is seeking a replacement for CEO Eric Breon. It has chosen Matt Roberts, former OpenTable CEO, as interim CEO of the vacation rental property management service. Skift

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