Vail announced CEO Kirsten Lynch’s resignation in a press release May 27.
Katz, the current chair of Vail’s board of directors, will take over as chief executive. He was previously CEO from 2006 to 2021 and oversaw numerous mountain acquisitions — including Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons — as well as the introduction of the Epic Pass.
Lynch tookover from Katz in 2021. Under her leadership, Vail acquired its first European resorts: Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana in Switzerland. It also launched the My Epic Gear rental service.
The company said she will stay on as an advisor temporarily “to facilitate a smooth transition.”
In a letter to Vail employees May 27, Katz said he’s honored and humbled to resume his post.
“While our board felt that at this time, in this environment, it was the right decision to make a change, I, and the entire board, have a tremendous amount of gratitude for all that Kirsten has accomplished and for her immense contributions,” he wrote.
Katz said his main priority is “to deliver an experience of a lifetime for our employees and guests while driving financial success for our company.” He will continue as chair of the board of directors.
In January, a minor Vail shareholder publicly called for both Katz and Lynch’s ouster after a tumultuous labor dispute in Park City.
The union representing local ski patrollers and mountain safety staff went on strike in late December over stalled contract negotiations. They wanted better pay and benefits, which patrollers said they secured after 13 days off the job.
The strike, which coincided with the Christmas holidays, drew negative press nationally. Guests complained of long lift lines on social media sites and some filed a class-action lawsuit.
Afterward Vail announced it would provide a discount on Epic passes for the 2025-2026 season to anyone who skied or snowboarded during the strike.
Lynch acknowledged the distruptions in a statement to investors and said the company took action because Park City Mountain did not deliver the full experience guests were expecting.
The company’s metrics have been mixed as of late.
In March, on Vail’s most recent shareholder earnings call, the company reported total skier visits were down 2.5% season-to-date compared to last year. Lift ticket revenue was up 4%, however, due to early season pass sales.
Vail also said it finished FY2024 with stable earnings, excluding its acquisition of Crans-Montana.
But after a post-COVID bump, the last three years have seen Vail’s stock gradually decline in value.
Share prices steadily increased during Katz’s 15 years at the helm.
2008 saw the introduction of the Epic Pass, which offered access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly.
Vail Resorts went on to purchase or acquire 38 other ski areas across North America, Australia and Europe.
Katz oversaw 33 of those deals, which made Vail Resorts the largest ski area operator in North America. Since merging Park City and Canyons, it operates 42 resorts.
Recently, the company has focused on Europe, and last week it also announced Epic Pass holders will have access to five new Austrian resorts.
Katz did not immediately announce any changes to the company May 27.
“The reality is, every day should be different at Vail Resorts, because we are always trying to improve. Improve the service for our guests, the experience for our employees, the vibrancy of our communities, and, yes, the returns for our shareholders,” he wrote to employees. Vail Resorts' stock jumped about 10% in after-hours trading after the company announced Katz's return.
Katz first joined Vail in 1991 and became a board member in 1996.
Vail Resorts’ EpicPromise foundation is a financial supporter of KPCW. For a full list, click here.
This story was updated at 4:40 p.m. May 27, 2025.
