California/Nevada Amy Ohran Appointed General Manager of Northstar California

[Tricia]

Amy Ohran to Lead Northstar California - Ski Area Management

SAM Magazine—Truckee, Calif., June 24, 2022—Amy Ohran will join Vail Resorts as the new vice president and general manager of Northstar California, effective July 25. She will report to Tom Fortune, VP and COO of the Tahoe Region and Heavenly Mountain Resort. Ohran has been a ski industry leader...

www.saminfo.com

Quote from SAM:
Ohran has been a ski industry leader for 22 years and was previously with Powdr Corp., most recently serving as VP and general manager of Woodward Mountain Centers in Tahoe and Park City and before that as president and GM of Boreal Mountain, Calif. Ohran was recognized with a SAMMY Leadership Award in 2017. In addition, she serves as a board member with NSAA, Ski California, and the North Lake Tahoe Climber Coalition, and is an advisor for the Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation.

 

[fatbob]

What happened to her predecessor? Sacked or promoted following that last winter shitshow?

 

[KingGrump]

Knowing corporate. Probably promoted with the s**t show,

 

[4ster]

At least she has some history in the local area

 

[Tricia]

What happened to her predecessor? Sacked or promoted following that last winter shitshow?

I'm not sure about her predecessor,(Deirdra Walsh) but the past few GMs of Northstar have been promoted to run other resorts,
Beth Howard moved to Beaver Creek, then Vail. When she was moved to Vail, Nadia, the woman who took Beth's place at Northstar was promoted to Beaver Creek.

Promoted is such an interesting term. It sure feels like they're moving chess pieces around the board.

 

[fatbob]

Gone to Park City apparently where I'm sure her skills in presiding over a parking nightmare will make her the exact right hire

 

[Tricia]

Gone to Park City apparently where I'm sure her skills in presiding over a parking nightmare will make her the exact right hire

I was just coming here to post my search results.
Oy!

Park City Mountain Resort gets new leadership, as VP Mike Goar moves on

Dierdra Walsh will replace Mike Goar as vice president and COO during a busy time at the Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons ski areas.

www.sltrib.com

Its interesting because Bill Rock was moved to Park City from Northstar when VR took control of Park City.
We loved him at Northstar, but he was NOT well received at PCMR.
He is working in Broomfield now.

 

[dan ross]

Promoted is such an interesting term. It sure feels like they're moving chess pieces around the board.

or , moving deck chairs on the titanic. Nonetheless, it’s good to see more women in positions of leadership in the industry.

 

[Tricia]

or , moving deck chairs on the titanic. Nonetheless, it’s good to see more women in positions of leadership in the industry.

I haven't known all of them but I have known a few.
Beth Howard and Nadia Guerriaro were both amazing leaders and fantastic women

 

[fatbob]

I haven't known all of them but I have known a few.
Beth Howard and Nadia Guerriaro were both amazing leaders and fantastic women

So what's the problem? Just not given enough control/budget over their own levers? Managing to Broomfield metrics rather than to run a great resort? Or just the years/decades of collectively burying their heads in the sand on employee housing?

 

[locknload]

So what's the problem? Just not given enough control/budget over their own levers? Managing to Broomfield metrics rather than to run a great resort? Or just the years/decades of collectively burying their heads in the sand on employee housing?

Good question...are these Executives not able to manage their resorts or just implementing corporate's vision without much autonomy?

 

[Tricia]

So what's the problem? Just not given enough control/budget over their own levers? Managing to Broomfield metrics rather than to run a great resort? Or just the years/decades of collectively burying their heads in the sand on employee housing?

Good question...are these Executives not able to manage their resorts or just implementing corporate's vision without much autonomy?

From my limited experience at a VR owned property, they give you the promise of (in their words) Own it. Personalize it. Elevate it.
But then they have a group of people with a clipboard and list of rules that don't let you personalize anything. Its nothing new in the coporate structure, but its an illusion. We did some really great things in the store where I worked and were excited when the visual merchandise team was coming to visit the store. The minute they walked in they literally shook their heads and said, "oh my. That's not our brand."
I wish I had taken before and after pictures. I guarantee you that you'd like the way we merchandised the store better than the "VR Brand"
They buy places and promise to not change the vibe but then immediately "vail" it. You can ask some of our members who currently work at or ski places like Stowe, Whistler, etc...

I can only imagine how the hands are tied for those in upper management.

 

[locknload]

From my limited experience at a VR owned property, they give you the promise of (in their words) Own it. Personalize it. Elevate it.
But then they have a group of people with a clipboard and list of rules that don't let you personalize anything. Its nothing new in the coporate structure, but its an illusion. We did some really great things in the store where I worked and were excited when the visual merchandise team was coming to visit the store. The minute they walked in they literally shook their heads and said, "oh my. That's not our brand."
I wish I had taken before and after pictures. I guarantee you that you'd like the way we merchandised the store better than the "VR Brand"
They buy places and promise to not change the vibe but then immediately "vail" it. You can ask some of our members who currently work at or ski places like Stowe, Whistler, etc...

I can only imagine how the hands are tied for those in upper management.

That's a classic situation of not allowing your people (senior leaders in this case) to use their skill and discretion to operate within parameters to improve the overall product. As an executive interviewing for a job like that...its critical to understand what operational authority and control you will have AND very clearly understand what authority you don't have. It seems like, the Vail game is just to jump around every few years to different properties and I'm guessing (just a supposition) those that don't rock the boat continue to get upward promotion opportunities to manage more prestigious properties. Ideally, it would be run like portfolio and each VP/GM gets held accountable for a key range of performance indicators (KPIs) that are relevant to their resort: skier visits, some measure of profitability, customer satisfaction, employee retention...etc and they can do their thing. If this is the case, VR isn't ever going to get any better.

 

[Tricia]

That's a classic situation of not allowing your people (senior leaders in this case) to use their skill and discretion to operate within parameters to improve the overall product. As an executive interviewing for a job like that...its critical to understand what operational authority and control you will have AND very clearly understand what authority you don't have. It seems like, the Vail game is just to jump around every few years to different properties and I'm guessing (just a supposition) those that don't rock the boat continue to get upward promotion opportunities to manage more prestigious properties. Ideally, it would be run like portfolio and each VP/GM gets held accountable for a key range of performance indicators (KPIs) that are relevant to their resort: skier visits, some measure of profitability, customer satisfaction, employee retention...etc and they can do their thing. If this is the case, VR isn't ever going to get any better.

I used to have this sign in my office when I ran the excavation business with my practice husband (His family owned it)
It seems appropriate here.

 

[locknload]

I used to have this sign in my office when I ran the excavation business with my practice husband (His family owned it)
It seems appropriate here.

View attachment 172387

We call this ALL of the responsibility and NONE of the authority to decide anything...lol. See it all the time. We all complain a lot about Vail here...I am really genuinely interested in a deep dive into their corporate culture as a case study for what's working and what's not. They are wildly successful and all of their missteps don't seem to hurt the bottom line...seems like at some point that has to change.

 

[Tricia]

We call this ALL of the responsibility and NONE of the authority to decide anything...lol. See it all the time. We all complain a lot about Vail here...I am really genuinely interested in a deep dive into their corporate culture as a case study for what's working and what's not. They are wildly successful and all of their missteps don't seem to hurt the bottom line...seems like at some point that has to change.

Sometimes when a ship is that big, it takes a while for anyone to notice it hit an iceberg.

 

[dan ross]

I understand the concept of best corporate practices but the use of a one size fits all corporate template is misguided and homogenizing. VR needs to realize the intrinsic value of a resort partially lies in its unique qualities and attempts to eliminate these qualities in favor of a corporate identity is short sighted. Customers- skiers- bond with certain areas and resorts the way diners do with a restaurant- for its particular qualities. Mess with an area’s unique culture at your long term peril unless the goal is to create a monopoly….