Alterra names hospitality veteran Kelly Vohs as CEO as resorts prep for winter
Vohs, a former Green Beret and Blackstone portfolio executive, takes the helm of the Denver-based Ikon Pass owner on Oct. 19, succeeding an executive committee that has run the company since March.
Alterra Mountain Company has named Kelly Vohs as its next chief executive officer, effective Oct. 19, the Denver-based resort operator announced Monday. The announcement comes as Alterra's resorts prepare to open for the 2026-27 winter season. Vohs succeeds an executive committee of the company's board of directors that has led Alterra since former CEO Jared Smith stepped aside in March.
Vohs brings nearly 30 years of experience leading customer-facing, operationally complex businesses across hospitality, real estate and technology. He spent more than a decade leading companies in Blackstone's portfolio, including most recently as chief executive of LivCor, and most recently served as CEO of SafetyCulture, a global frontline operations platform used by more than 85,000 organizations and supporting more than 2.5 million frontline workers.
Earlier in his career, Vohs led operations for BR Guest Hospitality, a New York restaurant group with more than 20 restaurants, and held hotel leadership roles including general manager of the Boca Raton Resort & Club and the Waldorf Astoria Chicago, and opening general manager of the Conrad Chicago. He also served eight years as a Green Beret with the U.S. Army's 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, completing four combat deployments.
Kelly will take the helm at exactly the right moment.
Eric Resnick, chairman of the Alterra board of directors (company announcement)
A Colorado company heading into winter
Alterra is headquartered in Denver. The company owns the Ikon Pass, which offers access to more than 70 mountain destinations around the world, and owns or operates 17 ski areas in the United States and Canada plus two heli-skiing operations. Its three Colorado resorts are Steamboat, Winter Park Resort and Arapahoe Basin. The company also owns CMH Heli-Skiing and Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing in British Columbia, which it describes as the world's largest heli-skiing operation.
Some of the best days I've ever had have been on a mountain.
Kelly Vohs, incoming CEO, Alterra Mountain Company (company announcement)
Vohs said he was excited to come back to Colorado and that he and his family were glad to make Denver their home. He pointed to the lift operators, instructors, groomers, chefs and housekeepers who make a ski day work, calling the business a team sport and saying his job is to back those teams up so they can do their best work.
The appointment lands at an anxious moment for the ski business. POWDER reported that Alterra recently laid off some employees, and that its main competitor, Vail Resorts, has seen a downturn in pass sales for the coming season after a historically rough winter in the West. POWDER also reported that, as talk swirled that Alterra might leave Colorado, the company struck a deal with local leaders to stay in Denver and move to a new building.
The Vail Tribune is an independent publication with no affiliation to Alterra Mountain Company or Vail Resorts.
