You grew up in Winter Park, Colorado, with a family in the ski business.
My dad started his career at the ski resort. He ended up working there for 44 years. He did almost everything—ski patrol, ski school, he was the mountain manager for a while, and then the vice president of public affairs. When I was a teenager, my mom started a retail business, Club T, at the Winter Park base area. My first job in the ski business was as a T-shirt folder there. 

As you watched your dad’s involvement in resort administration, did you think, “That’s what I want to do someday!”?
I didn’t. I was focused on ski racing for a huge chunk of my youth. I went to college and got a degree in finance, thinking I was going to do some sort of private equity or hedge fund job, but ultimately got pulled back into the ski business because I was chasing a girl.

The girl who would become your wife?
Yeah. She was a Slovenian ski racer. We met when I was at the University of Colorado, and she was racing for the University of Utah. When I graduated, I made the decision to go to Salt Lake City and see if it was going to work out with Tina. Two months later I was working at Park City as a corporate analyst. Later, I was named director of finance.

After Vail Resorts bought the Park City ski area, you were asked to head up VR’s urban Midwestern ski areas: Mt. Brighton, Afton Alps, and, eventually, Wilmot Mountain. How was that experience?
I thought I’d be at Park City forever. That was a real inflection point in my career. Maybe in my mind, I was like, “Is this a trick from Vail Resorts or is this a demotion?” But what started as trepidation turned into an amazing gift. I felt like I understood the core of skiing more. I saw the things that people and families would do to ensure that they could go out together on snow.

You later worked at Keystone and then as chief operating officer at Whistler for four years; what attracted you to Aspen?
I relished every moment I was with Vail Resorts, and I learned a ton. What Aspen has is a bit of independence, which was a draw, and I realized the business side and the operations side all happen here. I loved Whistler so much that it was hard to get my head around leaving, but at the end of the day, I’m a Colorado boy. And to know that I can continue to further my professional pursuits but also stay grounded in the mountain culture was a huge piece of it.

Do you sometimes pinch yourself and think, “Wow, this is where I am!”?
I do. I also feel the burden of carrying on the Aspen legacy and doing right by the people of this town. People that live in mountain communities take ownership of the experience that happens on the mountains.

Shortly after you started the job, Aspen Skiing Company managing partner Jim Crown died; how did that impact you?
After meeting with Jim last winter, I knew I wanted to work for him. He seemed to lead with a graciousness of getting it right and listening. I thought, I want this guy to be my mentor. That’s what tipped the scales for me to leave Whistler. It was really challenging when I found out that the accident had happened. I tried not to be selfish, but, in the immediate moment, I selfishly felt like an opportunity that I thought was going to be there was now missed. 

The formation of a new parent company, Aspen One, with three divisions—Aspen Skiing Company, Aspen Hospitality, and AspenX—was in the works before you took the job. Explain your role in it now as CEO of one of those divisions.
The idea was how do we address growth for the Aspen Skiing Company. We have a strong brand, and the premise was our growth is going to be on the hospitality side and it’s going to be outside the valley. The company needed to provide a structure so the hospitality team could do that. I like to think of it as this is insurance that I’m going to be here focused on creating the best ski experience I possibly can and not be focused on some zoning restriction at a hotel in New York City or Denver. 

If you weren’t leading a ski resort, what might you be doing?
Skiing’s been so much a part of who I am. I think I’d be doing something that would have me outside in nature. That’s where I feel the clearest in my head and feel the most inspiration.

When you’re not working, what feeds you?
Our family has a saying, “The family that skis together stays together.” I love spending time with them, whether we’re camping or hiking or biking, as long as it’s the four of us and we’re outside somewhere.