Mike Goar to take helm at Vail Resort's Lake Tahoe properties

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Mike Goar has been named the new Heavenly Mountain Resort chief operating officer, with additional oversight of the company’s Kirkwood Mountain and Northstar California resorts.

Goar is coming from Vail Resort's Keystone resort in Colorado where his is the current vice president and chief operating officer.

The appointment follows the announcement earlier this month that Pete Sonntag would be transitioning from his Tahoe role to become the new Whistler Blackcomb chief operating officer, replacing Dave Brownlie who announced his decision in May to step down from the role.

“I am incredibly thankful to the outstanding team at Keystone whom I’ve had the honor to work with for the past two years,” said Goar. “While I will very much miss the resort, and especially the employees who make it so great, I am excited and looking forward to the opportunity to work with the talented teams at Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood.”

Goar has more than 40 years of ski resort industry experience starting out in ski patrol and grooming at Sunrise Park Resort in the White Mountains of Arizona. He has held various management positions throughout his career, including 27 years at Solitude Resort in Utah. Goar has been with Vail Resorts since the company acquired Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah, in 2013, where he served as the resort’s general manager since 2007, directing $37 million in on-mountain capital improvements, including new lifts, snowmaking, restaurants and ski terrain. During his tenure at Keystone since 2015, Goar has improved upon the resort’s standing as one of the premier family-friendly winter and summer mountain destinations in Colorado including the inaugural Colorado Family Ski Month this past December, as well as leading the capital investment in the resort’s operations and infrastructure to enhance the guest experience including this summer’s replacement and upgrade of the Montezuma lift and expansion of LaBonte’s Restaurant.

“We’re fortunate to have incredibly talented leaders at our resorts, like Pete and Mike, who are choosing to once again elevate their careers and pursue these new exciting opportunities across our network of world class resorts,” said Pat Campbell, the company’s mountain division president. “With Mike’s extensive experience in both winter and summer operations and his proven track record with guest service and community commitment, I am confident that he will continue to re-imagine our Tahoe resorts’ operations and our guest and employee experiences.”

Goar and his wife, Heidi, will relocate to South Lake Tahoe later this summer. The search to fill Goar’s chief operating officer position in Keystone will begin immediately.