Vail promotes Tom Fortune to COO of Lake Tahoe resorts

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Tom Fortune has been promoted to the chief operating officer for Vail Resorts for the Tahoe Region. He will continue to be the vice president/general manager at Heavenly Mountain Resort and the new position will give him oversight at the other two resorts as well - Kirkwood and Northstar.

Fortune is a South Lake Tahoe resident and has been with Vail for 13 years.

"I love being in this community and am extremely passionate about what makes it so special," said Fortune.

He was VP/GM at Kirkwood in 2016 until assuming the same role at Heavenly in 2019. Prior to both of those roles, he was director of Base Operations at Heavenly and senior director of Mountain Operations of Kirkwood. Before moving to Lake Tahoe, he was GM at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Sandpoint, Idaho, and spent 20 years at Stevens Pass, Wash

Fortune's day-to-day focus will be at Heavenly, he said the additional oversight of Northstar and Kirkwood will allow him to work together with the GMs and leadership teams at Northstar and Kirkwood on regional initiatives to "ensure consistent operational excellence at all three resorts."

"This new role was created with the intent that my experience will help ensure ongoing growth across the Tahoe region for our three resorts – I will lend operational expertise to ensure efficiency across all mountain operations, build high-performing and strong teams, better connect our three resorts, and always support ways to improve the guest and employee experience," said Fortune.

With climate change making an impact on skiing, Fortune said Vail has adapted its business to continue to provide guests with an "exceptional experience" no matter what kind of winter Mother Nature provides.

"Climate change is one of the most serious issues facing not only the ski industry but the world," said Fortune. "Weather variability has always been a factor in the ski industry. We’re not preparing for more or less snowfall; we are preparing for more change."

Vail continuously improves snowmaking coverage, thanks in part to the energy-efficient snowmaking investments and the expertise of our snowmaking teams, said Fortune.

"We are seeing a higher variability in conditions and temperatures, especially in the early season," he added.

While addressing climate issues, Fortune said they must always ensure their resorts offer a full complement of activities and services.

"Here in Tahoe and across Vail Resorts our season length has remained relatively consistent in recent years, and we’ve been able to extend our ski seasons at many locations including Heavenly and Kirkwood this past season," said Fortune.

The new COO said they know the most significant opportunity to have a measurable impact on climate change is through their operations as they work toward a zero net operating footprint by 2030 (zero net emissions, zero waste to landfill, and zero net operating impact on forests and habitat).

"We’re well on our way to achieving our Commitment to Zero goal—We recently reached 85 percent renewable electricity across our North American resorts," added Fortune.