Bio

Mike co-founded KSL and co-founded its predecessor KSL Recreation Corporation in 1992, serving as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Mike co-founded and became Chief Executive Officer of KSL Resorts in 2004 following the sale of KSL Recreation. Prior to establishing KSL Recreation with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, he served as President and CEO of Vail Associates, Inc. (owner of Vail and Beaver Creek Resorts) in Vail, Colorado, from 1986 to 1992. Mike is the recipient of the 2016 Horatio Alger Award of Distinguished Americans, the University of Wisconsin’s Distinguished Alumni Award and Northwestern University’s Kellogg Schaffner Award. In February of 2017 Mike and Mary Sue Shannon were named the Vail Valley Foundation’s Citizens of the Year. Mr. Shannon was named the recipient of the IREFAC C. Everett Johnson Award presented at the New York University Hospitality Industry Investment Conference in June 2018. He was named recipient of The Wisconsin Real Estate Award in September 2018. In January 2022 he was presented with the American Lodging Investment Summit’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In May 2023 Mr. Shannon was presented with the Kellogg Distinguished Alumni Service Award. Mike currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University, and as the Chairman of the Board of the University of Wisconsin Foundation, the Chairman of the Board of Eisenhower Medical Center, and as a member of Board of the Steadman Philippon Research Institute and the Vail Valley Foundation. He is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of Vail Health Services and Vail Health Hospital. He also serves on the Mayo Clinic Global Advisory Council. He is a past Director of Safeway, Inc.., ING Direct, Conseco, Inc., TCA Cable TV, Inc., Startek, Inc., ING Americas Holdings and ClubCorp Holdings, Inc., and the U. S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation. Mike is a member of the CEO organization. Mike holds a Bachelor of Business and Administration from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Management in Accounting and Finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management