Executive Team |
| The Intrawest Executive Team is made up of some of the most experienced individuals in the industry: | |
| BILL JENSEN Chief Executive Officer |
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| JEFF POTTER Chief Operating Officer |
IAN ARTHUR Chief Marketing Officer |
| STEPHEN RICHARDS Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer |
MARA PAGOTTO Senior Vice President, Chief People Officer |
| The Intrawest Resort Operations Leadership Team: | |
| DAN SKELTON President and Chief Operating Officer Blue Mountain |
SKY FOULKES President and Chief Operating Officer Stratton Mountain |
| FRANK DeBERRY President and Chief Operating Officer Snowshoe Mountain |
PATRICE MALO President and Chief Operating Officer Mont Tremblant |
| CHRIS DIAMOND President and Chief Operating Officer Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation |
GARY DeFRANGE President and Chief Operating Officer Winter Park |
Executive Biographies
Bill Jensen
Chief Executive Officer
In June 2008, William (Bill) A. Jensen was appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer at Intrawest. In this role he is responsible for the long-term vision of Intrawest, and he oversees the day-to-day management and operations of each of the company's resort properties. In addition, he is responsible for strategic planning and the strategy to broaden Intrawest's leadership in the experiential destination resort market and best position the company to take advantage of new growth opportunities.
Jensen brings over 35 years of ski industry experience and a demonstrated track record of successfully growing mountain resort operations throughout North America. Prior to his appointment at Intrawest he served as President of Vail Resorts' Mountain Division. In 1997 Jensen joined Vail Resort's as the Chief Operating Officer at Breckenridge Ski Resort and he was subsequently promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer of Vail Mountain in 1999.
From 1991 to 1997, Jensen was President of Fibreboard Resort Group where he oversaw the executive management of three ski resorts in California (Northstar at Tahoe, Sierra at Tahoe, and Bear Mountain).
Jensen is an enthusiastic leader and accomplished community representative. He is a past Chairman of the National Ski Areas Association.
Jeff Potter
Chief Operating Officer
Jeff is a seasoned executive with a successful track record and a demonstrated ability to lead in diverse industries within both the private and public sectors.
Most recently, Mr. Potter joined Alpine-CMH, which is an entity of Intrawest. He holds both titles as Chief Executive Officer for Alpine-CMH and Chief Operating Officer for Intrawest. Prior to joining Alpine-CMH/Intrawest he was Chief Executive Officer for Exclusive Resorts, LLC. He led the largest Luxury Destination Club through the most challenging economic times in recent memory. He remains a member of the Board of Directors for the Steve Case owned company.
Prior to joining Exclusive Resorts, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Frontier Airlines and a member of their Board of Directors. He originally joined Frontier in 1995 as Vice President of Marketing. He also held the CEO title with Vanguard Airlines in early 2000.
During his tenure as CEO for these companies, each was successful and noted for their financial success, unparalleled service and product quality, brand awareness and image that exemplified corporate differentiation, strong corporate cultures that created employee commitment and loyalty, and a commitment to positive results with strict abidance to sound corporate integrity.
Reflective of his leadership success, he has been named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003 by Eastern Washington University, CEO of the Year in 2005 by Colorado BIZ Magazine, Business Person of the Year in 2006 by the Public Relations Society of America and received the Governor’s Tourism Award in 2007 for his individual efforts on the behalf of tourism for the State of Colorado.
In addition to his Board position with Exclusive Resorts, Mr. Potter is active in the community and holds board positions with Colorado State Bank and Trust, Colorado Christian Home for Children at the Tennyson Center, Junior Achievement and the Metropolitan State College Foundation.
Ian Arthur
Chief Marketing Officer
Ian Arthur is a proven leader in creating high-impact marketing and branding initiatives that build significant awareness, capture market share and increase revenues. He is a leader that drives change and has extensive experience in creating and cultivating brands through direct stakeholder engagement leading to brands that are fully integrated throughout the organization.
Arthur oversaw this process for Frontier Airlines where he served as Director of Marketing. This led to the development of the airline's successful “A whole different animal” branding campaign winning more than 80 Effies and last year this campaign won the Gold Effie for sustainable advertising. Arthur returned to Frontier as Vice President of Marketing where he oversaw the brand merger of Frontier, Midwest and Republic Airlines. As Vice President of Marketing for Vail and Beaver Creek he was responsible for rebranding the Beaver Creek ski resort through the “Not Exactly Roughing it” campaign resulting in repositioning Beaver Creek as the leading luxury resort in North America. As EVP of Marketing he developed the successful “There’s no place like together” brand for Exclusive Resorts.
Previously Arthur was a leading marketer in the sports industry where he served as Global Product Manager for Prince the leading brand in the tennis industry, he was also Director of Marketing for Head Sports in the US and became the Director of Marketing US Footwear for Nike one of the most recognized brands in the world.
Stephen Richards
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer
Stephen Richards was appointed as Intrawest's new Chief Legal Officer on August 5, 2008. In this position, Richards is responsible for all of the legal services and corporate governance matters for Intrawest. He is committed to building our Intrawest legal centre of excellence and he has company-wide responsibility and decision-making authority to implement common legal processes across all resort operations, Intrawest Hospitality Management, real estate operations (Placemaking and Playground) and all central corporate functions at Intrawest.
Richards brings more than 20 years of senior legal experience and of adding value to both private and public businesses. He has a demonstrated track record of success in the areas of litigation management, enterprise insurance underwriting, human resources/employment matters, real estate transactions, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and partnership structuring, as well as general corporate commercial matters.
Prior to joining Intrawest, Richards served from 2006 to 2008 as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Imperial Parking Group , an industry leader in transportation infrastructure management in Canada and the United States and had overall responsibility for the provision of legal services and risk management for the corporate group. From 1988 to 2005, Richards held a number of leadership positions within the corporate law group at Terasen Inc., a leading Canadian provider of energy and utility services. In his role as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Risk Officer for the Terasen Group of Companies, he was accountable to the Board of Directors for securities compliance, including insider trading controls and corporate governance. Under his direction, Terasen won national awards for corporate governance including The Conference Board and Spencer Stuart National Award for Governance (Private Sector) and The Conference Board and Spencer Stuart Overall Award for Best Corporate Governance for Canadian public and private sector companies. During his tenure with Terasen, Richards also served as a director on the board of a number of the company's subsidiaries.
Richards earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of British Columbia, and he was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 1986. As a Vancouver resident committed to serving his community, he previously acted as Director, Crime Stoppers of Greater Vancouver, and now currently serves as Director and Chair, Community Home Support Services Association.
Mara Pagotto
Senior Vice President, Chief People Officer
Mara Pagotto was appointed to the newly created position of Chief People Officer in January 2008. In this position, Pagotto is responsible for all aspects of Human Resources and Employee Experience for Intrawest's 22,000 employees worldwide. She has company-wide responsibility and decision-making authority to implement common HR processes across all divisions of the company. These divisions include: Resort operations, Intrawest Hospitality Management, Real Estate operations (Placemaking and Playground) and all central corporate functions at Intrawest.
Pagotto brings an impressive track record of experience at several large global organizations. Most recently, she served as Vice-President of Human Resources supporting American Express Global Travel Services. In this position she was responsible for setting and driving the company's leadership and diversity strategy, employee engagement, organizational effectiveness and various strategic initiatives in the area of Human Resources that impacted over 18,000 employees worldwide.
Prior to joining American Express in 2003, Pagotto's career started in finance where she became Vice President of Finance and Administration for a major Canadian franchise company. Over the span of her career, Pagotto has held various leadership positions in strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, operations, marketing and communications and human resources.
Pagotto is an enthusiastic leader, an accomplished community representative and a graduate of Queen's University in Ontario. She is based out of Intrawest's Shared Services office in Golden, Colorado.
Dan Skelton
President and Chief Operating Officer
Blue Mountain, Ontario
As President and COO of Blue Mountain Resorts Limited, Dan Skelton is responsible for the management and operations of Ontario's largest mountain resort.
With over 25 years of mountain resort management and operational experience, Skelton has been integral to the successful development of Canada's most sophisticated snowmaking system among other recreational offerings and advancements on the resort property. Skelton began his career at Blue Mountain as a seasonal student in August, 1978 learning the resort operation from a front line and support perspective. He worked and progressed his way in many roles within departments including Lifts, Lift Maintenance, Ski Patrol and Snowmaking.
Skelton returned in May, 1990 after studying Civil Engineering at the University of Ottawa. He began a research project which would eventually revolutionize the snowmaking system at Blue with the invention of an automated valve and software for snowmaking guns.
In December, 2003 Skelton became VP Mountain Operations, Golf and Tennis (assuming the role previously occupied by his father, Bill Skelton). He held that position until July 15, 2009 when Skelton was appointed to his current position as President and COO. Over the course of his career Skelton has played vital role in the rapid expansion and growth of Blue Mountain into what is now Ontario's premiere four season destination resort.
In 1999, Intrawest acquired a 50% interest in Blue Mountain. In his role as President and COO, Skelton is a core member of the Intrawest Senior Leadership Team and he has been an active representative of Blue Mountain Resort throughout the planning, development and operation of the Intrawest Village at Blue Mountain.
In addition to his resort responsibilities, Skelton has participated in numerous of advisory roles on the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) Committees and was a member of the Board of the Ontario Ski Resorts Association (OSRA) from 1997-2003.
Skelton lives in the Blue Mountain area with his wife Linda and two sons.
Sky Foulkes
President and Chief Operating Officer
Stratton Mountain, Vermont
Sky Foulkes is the President and Chief Operating Officer at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. As the Resort Chief, Foulkes is responsible for the long-term vision of the resort, as well as the day-to-day management and operations. In addition, he is focused on creating unique customer experiences that create a distinct brand to ensure that Stratton retains its unique characteristics and customer appeal.
Foulkes joined Stratton in 1982 as a Ski Patroller, and worked his way up, distinguishing himself in all aspects of mountain operations, eventually assuming the role of Vice President of Operations. In November 2002, he was to the position of Vice President and General Manager of Stratton and in 2006 he also assumed the leadership position at Mountain Creek until Intrawest appointed a new full-time Resort Chief for the New Jersey-based resort.
During his tenure, Foulkes' consistent, effective leadership and high visibility have resulted in a substantial increase in satisfaction of resort guests, homeowners and employees. He has devoted a considerable amount of time and effort to creating and integrated model that has proven to be an effective way to lead the resort.
In addition to his day-to-day resort management responsibilities, Foulkes makes important contributions of his time and energy to a number of community organizations that make Stratton a better place.
Foulkes graduated cum laude with a B.S. from Colorado State University in 1982.
Frank DeBerry
President and Chief Operating Officer
Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia
Frank DeBerry first took on the role of President and Chief Operating Officer for Snowshoe Mountain, Inc., January of 2011 and is responsible for the long term strategic planning and all aspects of the resort's operations.
DeBerry began his career with Intrawest in 1998 when Intrawest purchased Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon, NJ, where he had served in a variety of operating and leadership capacities since his first summer operating season in 1990. In his tenure at Mountain Creek, DeBerry consistently improved the mountain experience for the guests he serviced and this approach has been the hallmark of his leadership throughout his career. He most recently held the position of President and Chief Operating Officer of Mountain Creek where he was responsible for leading the senior operating team and staff in achieving the financial, guest experience, and employee engagement objectives. Under DeBerry's leadership Mountain Creek developed a strong reputation as an innovative leader in learn-to-ski experiences and in the world of youth-culture driven mountain terrain parks.
DeBerry graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University at Albany in New York. He also attended the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester in New York.
Patrice Malo
President and Chief Operating Officer
Mont Tremblant, Quebec
Patrice Malo was appointed to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer for Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec in December 2009. In this position, Malo is responsible for all aspects of resort operations, real estate and community relations at Tremblant.
Malo began his career at Tremblant in 1993 as a Financial Analysts and was promoted to the position of Vice President of Finance. In 2006, he left to pursue another career opportunity and in July 2009 he rejoined Tremblant as the Vice President of Lodging. In his most recent position at Tremblant Malo managed close to 1,000 condo-hotel units and he oversaw homeowner relations.
From 2006 to 2009, Malo worked for Medical Intelligence Technologies in Montreal as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President. In this role, he managed all of the financial activities of the Company's operations in Quebec and Europe and he was successful in negotiating several rounds of financing to support the operations of the Company.
Malo is a graduate of the University of Montreal, and he currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Tremblant Resort Association.
Chris Diamond
President & Chief Operating Officer
Steamboat Resort & Ski Corporation
Chris Diamond began his ski industry career in 1972, when he joined Sherburne Corporation (which later became S-K-I Ltd.) at Killington Vermont, serving as assistant to the president. In 1977, he was appointed general manager of the company's Mount Snow Ski Resort and vice president of the Sherburne Corporation. In 1994, he returned to Killington to serve as S-K-I Ltd.'s vice president of business development. In 1995, he was appointed vice president of Vermont operations for S-K-I Ltd., in which capacity he also served as president of the Killington and Mount Snow resorts. He returned to Mount Snow to serve as vice president and managing director in 1996, upon S-K-I Ltd.'s acquisition by American Skiing Company (ASC).
In 1999, he moved to the Steamboat where he currently serves as president of the resort. Diamond is a past chairman of the National Ski Areas Association, and past board member of the Vermont Ski Areas Association. He currently serves as chairman of the Board of Directors for Colorado Ski Country USA, the state trade association for the $2.5 billion Colorado ski industry.
He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, the Urban Renewal Authority Advisory Committee, the Yampa Valley Airport Advisory Commission, Board of Director of the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association and Government Affairs Committee of the National Ski Areas Association. Diamond earned a Bachelors degree from Middlebury College and a Masters degree from University of Massachusetts.
Gary DeFrange
President and Chief Operating Officer
Winter Park, Colorado
As President and Chief Operating Officer of Winter Park Resort, Gary DeFrange is responsible for the long term strategic planning and day-to-day operations of the Resort. This includes not only the operation of the mountain but also the operation and development of the Village at Winter Park.
Gary's involvement with Winter Park began 29 years when, as part of his community involvement and passion for working with children, he became a volunteer ski instructor for the blind with the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD). The NSCD is the largest ski and summer mountain recreation program in the world and it is headquartered in Winter Park. His involvement with the NSCD grew each year and he ultimately became Chairman of the Board of this Organization. This involvement, along with his senior management experience and knowledge of the ski industry from a financial standpoint, made him the successful candidate for the position of President/CEO of the Resort when his predecessor retired.
Gary joined the Resort as President/CEO in July 1997. He was instrumental in convincing his Board as well as the City of Denver, the owner of the Resort, that the business model under which the resort had operated since 1950 had to be changed. He was an active participant with the City of Denver in the selection of Intrawest to operate and develop the Resort and was also very involved in structuring the deal between the City of Denver and Intrawest. The transaction with Intrawest closed on December 23, 2002 at which time Gary accepted a position with Intrawest as Vice President and General Manager of Winter Park Resort.
Prior to joining Intrawest Gary spent 27 years in the Banking Industry. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a BS in Business and immediately began his banking career as a Management Trainee. He ultimately became Chairman, President, and CEO of First Interstate Bank of Denver, the second largest bank in the State of Colorado, and Regional President over all First Interstate Banks in Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico.
Gary and his wife live full time in Winter Park and are both active members of the Community. He currently serves on the Board of the National Sports Center of the Disabled, Colorado Ski Country USA, and the Wells Fargo Bank of Denver Community Board. He is also President of the Board of Fox Run Holding LLC, a non-profit affordable housing project, and Chairman of the Board of AAA Colorado.