Vail Resorts Names Mike Goar New Tahoe Region Vice President & Heavenly Chief Operating Officer
BROOMFIELD, Colo.–June 28, 2017–Vail Resorts, Inc., (NYSE: MTN) (“Vail Resorts”) announced today the appointment of Mike Goar, current vice president and chief operating officer of Keystone Resort in Colorado, as the new Heavenly Mountain Resort chief operating officer, with additional oversight of the company’s Kirkwood Mountain and Northstar California resorts.
The appointment follows the announcement earlier this month that Pete Sonntag would be transitioning from his Tahoe role to become the new Whistler Blackcomb chief operating officer, replacing Dave Brownlie who announced his decision in May to step down from the role.
“I am incredibly thankful to the outstanding team at Keystone whom I’ve had the honor to work with for the past two years,” said Goar. “While I will very much miss the resort, and especially the employees who make it so great, I am excited and looking forward to the opportunity to work with the talented teams at Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood.”
Goar has more than 40 years of ski resort industry experience starting out in ski patrol and grooming at Sunrise Park Resort in the White Mountains of Arizona. He has held various management positions throughout his career, including 27 years at Solitude Resort in Utah. Goar has been with Vail Resorts since the company acquired Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah, in 2013, where he served as the resort’s general manager since 2007, directing $37 million in on-mountain capital improvements, including new lifts, snowmaking, restaurants and ski terrain. During his tenure at Keystone since 2015, Goar has improved upon the resort’s standing as one of the premier family-friendly winter and summer mountain destinations in Colorado including the inaugural Colorado Family Ski Month this past December, as well as leading the capital investment in the resort’s operations and infrastructure to enhance the guest experience including this summer’s replacement and upgrade of the Montezuma lift and expansion of LaBonte’s Restaurant.
“We’re fortunate to have incredibly talented leaders at our resorts, like Pete and Mike, who are choosing to once again elevate their careers and pursue these new exciting opportunities across our network of world class resorts,” said Pat Campbell, the company’s mountain division president. “With Mike’s extensive experience in both winter and summer operations and his proven track record with guest service and community commitment, I am confident that he will continue to re-imagine our Tahoe resorts’ operations and our guest and employee experiences.”
Goar and his wife, Heidi, will relocate to South Lake Tahoe later this summer. The search to fill Goar’s chief operating officer position in Keystone will begin immediately.
About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading global mountain resort operator. Vail Resorts’ subsidiaries operate 11 world-class mountain resorts and three urban ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada; Perisher in Australia; Stowe in Vermont; Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan. Vail Resorts owns and/or manages a collection of casually elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.
The appointment follows the announcement earlier this month that Pete Sonntag would be transitioning from his Tahoe role to become the new Whistler Blackcomb chief operating officer, replacing Dave Brownlie who announced his decision in May to step down from the role.
“I am incredibly thankful to the outstanding team at Keystone whom I’ve had the honor to work with for the past two years,” said Goar. “While I will very much miss the resort, and especially the employees who make it so great, I am excited and looking forward to the opportunity to work with the talented teams at Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood.”
Goar has more than 40 years of ski resort industry experience starting out in ski patrol and grooming at Sunrise Park Resort in the White Mountains of Arizona. He has held various management positions throughout his career, including 27 years at Solitude Resort in Utah. Goar has been with Vail Resorts since the company acquired Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah, in 2013, where he served as the resort’s general manager since 2007, directing $37 million in on-mountain capital improvements, including new lifts, snowmaking, restaurants and ski terrain. During his tenure at Keystone since 2015, Goar has improved upon the resort’s standing as one of the premier family-friendly winter and summer mountain destinations in Colorado including the inaugural Colorado Family Ski Month this past December, as well as leading the capital investment in the resort’s operations and infrastructure to enhance the guest experience including this summer’s replacement and upgrade of the Montezuma lift and expansion of LaBonte’s Restaurant.
“We’re fortunate to have incredibly talented leaders at our resorts, like Pete and Mike, who are choosing to once again elevate their careers and pursue these new exciting opportunities across our network of world class resorts,” said Pat Campbell, the company’s mountain division president. “With Mike’s extensive experience in both winter and summer operations and his proven track record with guest service and community commitment, I am confident that he will continue to re-imagine our Tahoe resorts’ operations and our guest and employee experiences.”
Goar and his wife, Heidi, will relocate to South Lake Tahoe later this summer. The search to fill Goar’s chief operating officer position in Keystone will begin immediately.
About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading global mountain resort operator. Vail Resorts’ subsidiaries operate 11 world-class mountain resorts and three urban ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada; Perisher in Australia; Stowe in Vermont; Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan. Vail Resorts owns and/or manages a collection of casually elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.
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