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07-13-2010, 06:02 PM #1
Nancy Cushing Resigns As CEO of Squaw Valley USA
Just got an email from Granite Chief:
Effectively Imediately
Nancy Cushing Resigned Today As
Squaw Valley's CEO.
Andy Wirth, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp, announced Tuesday he is leaving the ski area to become chief executive officer at Squaw Valley ski resort in California
We just received this news and we will keep you posted
as we get more information on what this could mean for Squaw Valley.
Confirmed by Squaws Website:
http://www.squaw.com/press-release/n...uaw-valley-usa
effective on August 2, 2010.
Wirth brings more than 24 years of experience in the mountain resort and hospitality management industry and a proven ability to enhance customer experiences, to increase revenue, and to drive profitability.
Wirth joins Squaw Valley USA from Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation in Colorado, where he most recently held the position as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales and was a member of the Steamboat executive team. Wirth’s career at Steamboat began in 1986, and he has advanced through successive leadership roles in marketing and sales management throughout his tenure with the resort operating company.
In 2007, Wirth joined Intrawest ULC as a result of the acquisition of Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation and was soon promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer with responsibility for all of the marketing and sales functions for Intrawest’s portfolio of mountain resorts, including Whistler Blackcomb, Mont Tremblant, Stratton Mountain and Winter Park Resort. In addition, he held a concurrent role in which he oversaw Intrawest’s enterprise-wide strategic alliances along with the development and management of the marketing and sales efforts associated with Intrawest’s Hospitality Management division with operations in North America, Europe, Mexico and Hawaii.
“Squaw Valley USA has a reputation as a premier resort destination with a proud Olympic heritage and strong ties to the local community,” said Nancy Cushing, Squaw Valley Ski Corporation’s Board Chairperson. “Now is the time for our next phase of growth, and we are delighted to have an executive of Andy’s caliber and breadth of experience to lead our resort into the future. His years of dedicated service at Steamboat have helped to create one of the most well-known and respected resort brands in the travel industry. His experience and wealth of industry knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to create a legendary resort experience at Squaw Valley USA for our customers, homeowners, commercial tenants and team members.”
“Squaw Valley USA is a world class mountain with an incredible and unique place in the history of skiing and riding. I am looking forward to this opportunity as it’s a chance to work with a legendary mountain resort and a terrific management team. I will seek to further strengthen Squaw’s position as the premier ski destination for families & serious skiers alike, as well as creating the most fun, exciting consumer experience anywhere,” said Andy Wirth, chief executive officer at Squaw Valley USA.
As a member of Intrawest’s as well as Steamboat’s executive team, Wirth has been a leader in the development of strategic and capital planning and has been deeply engaged in operations including food and beverage, retail, rental and ski school.
Wirth earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University and attended Edinburgh University in Scotland. He is an enthusiastic and accomplished business and community leader earning the prestigious 2002 Steamboat Springs Business Leader of the Year Award and the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Global Award for the Top Twenty Five Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing. He’s served the community of Steamboat Springs as a Rotarian, President of the new Mountain Village Partnership Board of Directors, volunteer fireman, a member of the Routt County Economic Development Committee and proudly served as President of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Board of Directors from 2002 to 2010.
About Squaw Valley USA
Site of the VIII Winter Olympic Games, Squaw Valley USA is located five miles north of Lake Tahoe along the Truckee River on Highway 89. The year-round resort offers 4,000 acres of lift served terrain including half pipes and terrain parks, ice-skating, snowtubing, indoor rock climbing, mountain biking, zip lines, disc golf, paintball, swimming lagoon, an Olympic Winter Games Museum, shopping, dining and world class events. For more information visit www.squaw.com
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Media Contacts:
Christine Horvath
Director of Marketing
Squaw Valley USA
Email: chorvath@squaw.com
Phone: 530-583-6985
Kelly Cummings
Mfa, Ltd.
Email: kcummings@mfaltd.com
Phone 212-528-1691Last edited by unpossible; 07-13-2010 at 06:17 PM.
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07-13-2010, 06:05 PM #2
very interesting!!
I'm not a Gynecologist, but i'll take a look
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07-13-2010, 06:07 PM #3
While I know nothing about Andy, seeing Nancy gone is a good start. Unofficial Game of GNAR Take 2!?
Last edited by unpossible; 07-13-2010 at 07:11 PM.
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07-13-2010, 06:08 PM #4
HOLY SHIT!
Un-P, how do you get any work done?
okbye
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07-13-2010, 06:43 PM #5
nancy gone, yeay! someone from intrawest in, hmmmmmmmmm. . . ?
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07-13-2010, 08:37 PM #6?
- Join Date
- Jul 2005
- Location
- Verdi NV
- Posts
- 10,457
I do not get a warm fuzzy
Sounds like the guy you hire when you want to sell a Ski Resort.
Sounds like Nancy just wants to cash in the max.
As a Ski resort Squaw Valley Sells itself. It needed some minor tweaking here and there.
A Ski Corp guy is not going to do anything to make Squaw Valley better for skiers. Local or Commuter Skiers from Cali.
More profit always means (More Money for less Service)
I don't see much in common between Steamboat and Squaw.?
I'm bummedOwn your fail. ~Jer~
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07-13-2010, 11:16 PM #7
Devil you know vs. the devil you don't... I for one am tired of the one I know and willing to take my chances.
It's no secret squaws been positioning to sell. Personally I think this is a play to get Nancy out (possibly by the board, I've heard grumbles for quite some time that they want her out). And possibly even to force her share to be sold separately.
Remember there are 3 kids with shares also, them selling out to the board could change a balance of power, could it not?
There are a million rumors, one of which is a five year holding requirement as part of alex's will. Guess what? Alex died Aug 2006, one season left if the "rumor" holds any truth.
Only time will tell, but I'm hoping for a total revamp of the marketing department for a start.If things seem in control, Your just not going fast enough.
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07-14-2010, 09:59 AM #8
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07-14-2010, 02:30 PM #9
do everyone a favor and take out the suburban shopping mall crapshow village at the bottom of your world class mountain so people can go back to enjoying it for what it is... a mountain.
“83.2% of people make up their own statistics.”—Unknown
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07-14-2010, 02:34 PM #10
Good riddance, the Black Widow was not skier friendly.
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07-14-2010, 03:16 PM #11
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07-14-2010, 03:18 PM #12not counting days 2016-17
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07-14-2010, 05:48 PM #13
I have some buddies who have left Steamboat after the Intrawest acquisition, solely because they thought the vibe drastically changed.
and i thought more people would be in elation with this news, after all the complaining i heard out there everyday.
i just hope they dont keep swaying towards the "family oriented" resort mindset. wasnt anyone from "Hot Dog - The Movie" in the job market?
not around those parts this summer, but the addition of the mtn bike park this summer kind of makes me happy. . . .
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07-15-2010, 04:26 AM #14
Forgot to mention above.... Least us not forget, she is still Chairman of the Board...
If things seem in control, Your just not going fast enough.
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07-15-2010, 07:03 AM #15
Intrawest marketing at its finest. I cant wait to see whats in store for Squaw.
http://www.yoursnowday.com/Originally Posted by Edgnar
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07-15-2010, 12:25 PM #16
FWIW, emailed a friend in Steamboat who has been there forever and runs a sports bar. He had nothing but good things to say about Andy Wirth.
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I'm a cougar, not a MILF! I have to protect my rep! - bklyn
In any case, if you're ever really in this situation make sure you at least bargain in a couple of fluffers.
-snowsprite
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07-15-2010, 01:38 PM #17
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07-15-2010, 02:20 PM #18
what sports bar?
in these tough economic times... i guess it's good to have a snake in the grass if your resort is in a tough spot.
Andy Wirth (-less, as he's known to many others who are involved with Steamboat) has rightfully earned the "khaki-wearing, Ski Magazine loving" rap. Well, Squaw, enjoy that you are one of the classic ski areas and so much progression has taken place there. I'm excited to see him leave Steamboat. He'll go to squaw and try to milk the Riches' as much as he can while leaving behind anything forward thinking in terms of on-mountain development. Hey, it's a business, right? One good thing for locals in Squaw is that he will probably shit on the commuter base. Take your pick:
- Crowds on the weekends of stoked families. Solution: Work weekends, appreciate that you were most likely taking advantage of deals for the weekend warriors back when you were a kid.
- Snobs poo-pooing your on-mountain amenities.
First Shane and C.R. pass, then you get Andy Wirth I feel very sorry.
As far as credentials, Dad has worked there, Management floor, since '94 and I graduated from Steamboat Springs HS. What's Rob Perlman like? I think I was around for only one season at the Jane/WP while he had the reigns.Last edited by DocDuke; 07-15-2010 at 02:22 PM. Reason: adding some clarification
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
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07-16-2010, 03:44 PM #19Registered User
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My take on this is that everyone thinks their local mtn is run like shit. I've been skiing Squaw since 81 and I'm thrilled that Nancy is gone. Good riddance!
I spent a season at Jackson Hole in the mid-90s, last year before the Gondi, and thought that mtn was run way better than Squaw, yet all the locals bitched & complained, they didn't know how good they had it IMO.
Will Squaw be run any better under the new guy? Only time will tell whether Silverado doesn't get saved for the weekend & Broken Arrow runs every day. Guess we'll know if it's an improvement or just more of the same in about 8 months."The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size."
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07-16-2010, 07:21 PM #20I NEVER troll
- Join Date
- Jun 2009
- Posts
- 11,627
the problem with nancy wasnt really the operations stuff. For the most part, those decisions were made by Jimmy King, and for the most part he does a very good job. I'd be more worried about what happens when old guard guys like him leave, although if Hans can be replaced, JK probably can be too. And BA will never, ever be open every day. Get real.
Her problem was the lawyer/business aspect. Adversarial relationships with the state and county, to hell with permits, we'll ask for forgiveness later, that kind of thing. And the endless string of poorly conceived business decisions - trying to develop Far East, the graveyard of bad ideas at High Camp(summer skiing on Bailey's Beach anyone?), etc. My gut feeling is that the benefits of a proven, experienced executive will outweigh any negative changes in "vibe," but time will indeed tell
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07-17-2010, 01:14 AM #21ON3P
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Posts
- 107
that strip mall employs me, feeds me, gives me a rad little hole to the blackzone, hot tubs to poach once i'm there and then gives me a heated parking garage in which to pass out in my car. pretty sure it's ski bum friendly. i say finish it... and then buy the nat geo property, heh... or just put in a gate.
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07-17-2010, 10:16 AM #22
^^^ +1.
I remember Squaw when there was absolutely nothing at the base, it sucked. I like actually having some places to eat for lunch and dinner that aren't total crap, and are sometimes cheaper than any dining option provided by Squaw. I also like having a few ski shops in case a need some last minute gear or a tune/mount/repair.
And being that I have from time to time mooched free lodging in various condos at the base from friends/coworkers, can't say I mind that either. Especially when I am there on a powder day, makes getting a good spot in the KT line, that much easier.
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08-02-2010, 03:34 PM #23
Received another interesting email from Granite Chief Squaw Valley:
Hello Friends,
As you know from our last email regarding Nancy Cushing's resignation there have been many changes at Squaw Valley. One of the changes was a huge rent increase that amounted to two and a half times what we and other tenants have been paying. Our lease was up June 30th and though we had two five year options the new rent structure and business limitations did not make sense for us. What was in our favor was that our lease was ending and we could walk away. Most other merchants did not have that option and had no other choice but to sign a revised one year lease at the increased rent.
We have moved out but we have left our signs on the storefront and we are continuing negotiations. With the changes in Squaw there does come some good news, the newly appointed CEO, Andy Wirth, is bringing new blood to our favorite ski area. He has a stellar reputation as a businessman and team builder.
We started Granite Chief in Squaw 34 years ago; we have built our business and our home there. We are torn between our Squaw heritage, our relationship with our loyal customers and a rent structure for a difficult location within the Village that just does not make any business sense at all.
Though we do see most of you in our Truckee store we are currently working on pickup and delivery locations in the valley so that we can continue to take care of our longtime Squaw customers. We have a beautiful 8000 sq.ft store in Truckee and we are extending our Friday and Saturday night hours to 9pm, hopefully making it more convenient for you to stop in on your way up on Friday night and for you to shop or have boot work done Saturday evenings after skiing.
In these tough economic times it is important that we make good sound and reasonable decisions. We will keep you posted and we sincerely hope that conversations with Andy will find a way for The Chief to remain a Squaw Valley business. We hope that you will still take advantage of our Ski Service Card. It is a great money saver with 50% savings on ski and boot services. We will still have our Demo Day BBQ and offer the discount programs on skis, boots, and bindings. These are great benefits for our Ski Service Card Members. For your convenience you can purchase your Ski Service Card online by clicking the link below,
Click here: Buy Your Ski Service Card & Save
Sincerely and Best Regards,
Herb Manning
If you have any input that you would like to share with Andy Wirth, the new CEO, please contact him at
awirth@squaw.com, he is taking the helm August 3rd. You may also write him at...
Andy Wirth
C/O Squaw Valley Ski Corporation
PO Box 2007
Olympic Valley, CA 96146
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08-02-2010, 04:21 PM #24
Weak sauce on the rent increase.
I have been trying to arrange a big party at the old OVI. Apparently Squaw just spent 400K on a remodel, to convert it to conference service facility. They are adamant that no more concerts be held there.
I have explained to them that OVI could be the premier concert venue in North Lake Tahoe as well companies are downsizing, not having retreats in Squaw Valley, but to no avail.
I too am hoping Mr Wirth makes a positive difference to Squaw Valley Ski CORP
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08-03-2010, 06:45 AM #25
I have known Andy for some time. He is genuine, down to earth, and is a big supporter of skiers. He not only worked for ski corp, but helped lead the SSWSC which has put hundreds of athletes onto the national and international stage.
Hope it works out better for all.
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