In year 20, Katz talks climate, diversity, speaking up as a CEO in turbulent times for ski industry
Ben Roof/Special to the Daily
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part, exclusive Vail Daily conversation with Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz marking his 20th anniversary at the helm of the ski company. Read part one.
Last year, Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz returned to the helm of the ski company he greatly expanded over two decades and relocated to the Denver suburbs from Avon soon after first taking the top job on Feb. 28, 2006. He did step down as CEO for three and half years but was still chairperson of the board during that hiatus starting in late 2021.
In part one of an exclusive phone interview with Vail Daily, Katz talked about transforming the ski industry with the multi-resort Epic Pass in 2008, growing the publicly-traded company from five ski areas to 42, and what those changes have meant for ski towns across Colorado, the West and the world. But none of those things rank as his top accomplishment, Katz said.
“The thing I’m most proud of is the leadership culture that we have at Vail Resorts and particularly the kind of career progression that we’ve created in the mountain division, where, when I first got to the company 20 years ago, there was very little upward mobility and very little opportunity for people within the resorts to progress in their career,” Katz said.
That was one of the reasons he moved the company headquarters out of a mountain town and 100-plus miles down to a city — Broomfield — with lower-cost housing and much easier access to a major international airport.
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“Most people would not move from resort to resort or it wasn’t even encouraged,” Katz said of the company 20 years ago. “So today, when I look across all of our resorts and I see how many people are running resorts that were developed at our company, it’s a huge source of pride.”
Katz said that now, more than 90% of every opening on a team or to run a resort is filled internally.
“Then, obviously, the gender diversification that we’ve seen, has also been something that’s been great,” Katz said. “Not only because I feel like it’s the right thing to do for the industry, but it was kind of smart because now we have a much bigger pool of talent.”
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Katz points to longtime Vail Resorts executive and special adviser to the company Pat Campbell, who rose through the ranks from ski school at Breckenridge to COO to the executive offices as “one of the best leaders we’ve had.”
“(Pat’s) winning the Lifetime Achievement Award at NSAA (National Ski Areas Association) in May … is amazing. And she’s also the first woman to win that award ever; that’s less amazing,” Katz said. “But at least it’s hopefully the beginning. So, in the end, it is the leadership piece of it and the career progression that I hold as the biggest thing that I’m most proud of.”
Asked if growing diversity in the ski industry translates to pushing back against what critics say are sexist and racist policies in Washington these days, Katz said there is some responsibility on that front.
“There’s a responsibility for CEOs and companies to focus on what’s core to their business and core to their identity,” Katz said. “I don’t think it’s a Vail Resorts’ responsibility to talk about every issue that’s out there because there are a lot of issues and we’re a ski company trying to provide these experiences of a lifetime to folks, and that’s where we need to be grounded.
“But certainly, one of the reasons why we have not seen more growth in skiing and riding is that we just don’t have the engagement from communities of color. That is a major issue. And every way you cut it, just for income and costs and this and that, we’re woefully under-penetrated. And that’s something that we have to continue to work on. If we want to make progress on broadening the sport and broadening access, then our company has to be more diverse.”
Anti-DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) executive orders from the White House have roiled corporate America over the past year, and Katz said Vail Resorts will adhere to the law while continuing to do what’s best for the company.
“Now we have to live within the laws, and when the Supreme Court says something and that gets passed down, we have to live within that and we have to live within the regulations that are put out there,” Katz said. “We’re still living in the current world. But we also need to make sure we’re taking the right steps for our business. And, in that respect, our be-inclusive value is as important as ever, and we’re not backing away from that at all.”
Michael Childers, an associate professor in the history department at Colorado State University who specializes in the modern American West and the environment, said he’s taken note of Vail Resorts’ moves to be more inclusive while also reaching out to a younger demographic with new ski-pass discounts based on brand loyalty and age.
“I’m sure that Katz and his crew down in Broomfield probably crunched the numbers and realized that there’s a demographic issue, and there is a demographic issue where skiers are graying out,” Childers said. “And then Vail has been fighting this perception problem that it’s too expensive and it is the cause of all the ills within the industry.”
But Childers sees these recent moves as addressing problems around the edges because bigger, bolder changes might run counter to what Vail Resorts’ shareholders want to see.
“That’s the one thing that’s always kind of lost about these conversations is that Vail Resorts is a publicly traded company,” Childers said. “They already got rid of (Katz’s) replacement (previous CEO Kirsten Lynch). He’s had to come back, they’ve had some down years, and now the snow this winter. So they need to figure out how to look like the good guy again, and I don’t know if this does it.”
Katz in 2006 was very vocal about making strides as a company on the environmental front, attempting to build a green ski village in Vail west of Lionshead and eyeing the installation of renewable energy infrastructure. But the company ultimately moved in the direction of zero carbon by 2030, restoring fire-ravaged landscapes and massively upgrading its recycling efforts. It’s also helped move power companies in its various markets toward more renewable sources.
“Definitely something I’m proud about is the progress that the company’s made,” Katz said. “I probably also said back in ’06, that, in the end, the outdoors is our product, and, therefore, we have a special responsibility and an opportunity to do the right thing for the environment … to protect these special landscapes that we get to operate on.”
Childers, author of “Colorado Powder Keg: Ski Resorts and the Environmental Movement”, said he thinks ski companies are already having to adapt in significant ways to climate change, and he wishes Vail Resorts’ officials would be even more vocal about what that means for mountain towns.
“I’m glad that they’re aware that they need snow. And you see these sorts of things (they’re doing),” Childers said. “But a company of that size that’s publicly traded could be a lot more vocal. They have a huge megaphone and it’s an industry that’s fully reliant on snow and the climate. And now summertime is just as busy if not busier in these towns, and so they’ll pivot, maybe skiing will be a smaller percentage, to whatever the alternative would be …”
Katz said the broader ramifications of climate change go far beyond the ski industry.
“I don’t like not having a good ski season,” Katz said. “But no, the bigger issue would be if we see any kind wildfire issues in the summer. So, we all have to keep skiing and riding and these mountains are amazing, but we have to keep them in perspective, and I think our company should be doing its part to protect the environment.”
