Imhof named new Vail Valley Foundation head

EAGLE COUNTY — It only took about a month for Mike Imhof to have the “interim” removed from his job title. Imhof was named the new president and CEO of the Vail Valley Foundation on Wednesday.
Imhof was named interim president Oct. 9, when former foundation head Ceil Folz stepped down from the job. Folz had led the foundation for 16 years, including through the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. Imhof said he’s been left with some big shoes to fill.
“But it’s not just recent shoes,” Imhof said. “There’s a long line of shoes to fill, with the great minds of prior presidents.”
Imhof joined the foundation in 2007 after a stint with Vail Resorts, where he started his career in the valley in 1997 as the resort company’s national sales manager. When Vail Resorts moved its corporate offices to Broomfield, Imhof decided to stay in the Vail Valley, and he soon had a desk at the foundation’s office in Avon. There, his first job was as vice president of operations and sales.
“The (Vail Valley) Foundation was an aspirational job even when I was at Vail Resorts. It’s an organization that does amazing things.”Mike ImhofVail Valley Foundation
Support Local Journalism
“The foundation was an aspirational job even when I was at Vail Resorts,” Imhof said. “It’s an organization that does amazing things.”
READY FOR THE JOB
Imhof said he was “super fortunate” in his tenure at the foundation, since Folz and the leadership team allowed him to do a number of things. That experience led to Imhof serving as the organization’s senior vice president, overseeing much of the foundation’s sales and operations work leading up to the championships.
In a press release, Harry Frampton, chairman of the Vail Valley Foundation board of directors, said Imhof is ready for the top job.
“He has all the qualities necessary to lead the organization into the future, he has strong relationships with our partners and the community, he has great ideas, and he has the ability to execute them,” Frampton said.
‘BETTER THAN EVER’
While the foundation is known for big projects like world championships and the annual Birds of Prey ski races, the organization is involved in valley life from early childhood education to summer concerts in Eagle and Vail. The next big project is still over the immediate horizon, but Imhof said ideas are already starting to take shape.
For the near future, though, Imhof said the foundation is going to concentrate on what it’s doing now.
“We do a lot of amazing things,” Imhof said. “The focus now is to do everything we do today, but better. … We want to make sure we do all that exceptionally well and better than ever.”
Vail Daily Business Editor Scott Miller can be reached at 970-748-2930, smiller@vaildaily.com and @scottnmiller.
