What is Rob Katz's legacy from being CEO of Vail Resorts from 2006-2021?
There are a lot of directions that you could take this in, but the most straightforward one also happens to be the most cynical: Vail's market capitalization soared from just over $1B in the beginning of 2006 to $12B today. For context, compare the 785% increase in Vail's stock price to a 254% increase in the S&P 500 over that same time frame. I'm not familiar with other major outdoor industry stocks, so I won't try to compare Vail to them, but needless to say Vail has done very well for their shareholders.
As far as the industry as a whole goes, Vail's creation of the Epic Pass under Katz championed an entirely new pricing model that has rocked the skiing world and lead to a frenzy of acquisitions, partnerships, and competing pass products. I doubt that Alterra Mountain Company would exist without these developments from Vail. Like it or not, one cannot deny the influence that Katz has had. If we were to make a list of the people the most influential people in the skiing industry so far in the 21st century, I would argue that Katz should be at or near the top of that list. Again, we can argue about the merits of the moves he made, but those merits do not deny how the industry changed under his management of Vail.