Mr. Jones: Vail Resorts' history actually began back in 1962 with the opening of Vail Mountain, which is the first of five mountains we eventually would own. And then fast-forward to December of 1980, Beaver Creek opened as the second mountain under Vail Associates, as it was known at the time. Incidentally, Beaver Creek was one of the last major ski mountains opened in the United States, which I think reflects the high barrier to entry we have in the mountain resort business. In 1996 Vail Associates acquired Breckenridge and Keystone Resorts, and that's when Vail Resorts, Inc., was formally established. The following year, 1997, Vail Resorts went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MTN. Since then in 1999 we acquired the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo., which was our first resort property outside of Colorado. In 2001 we acquired the RockResorts brand, which is used for our casually elegant hotel resort properties. And in 2002 we acquired the last of our current five mountains, the Heavenly Resort up in Lake Tahoe. So Vail Resorts has grown from the initial Vail Mountain opening in 1962 to really be what we consider the premier mountain resort operator and a leader in the overall travel and leisure industry: five world-class ski resorts, ancillary businesses supporting the ski resorts, lodging properties, including those under the RockResorts brand, and a real estate development company.
TWST: I'm going to ask more about those, but first would you introduce us to the other key members of your senior management team?
Mr. Jones: First off, I'm proud to be part of what I believe is a terrific management team and an outstanding, passionate employee group at Vail Resorts. The management team is led by Rob Katz, our Chairman and CEO. Rob has been the CEO since 2006 and was also involved on the board since 1996. I think he is truly one of the most dynamic and smart leaders in the travel and leisure industry. I'm fortunate to be part of the management team and also joined Rob on the Vail Resorts board of directors starting last year. In addition to Rob and myself, we have key management leading all of our business functions from an operational standpoint. That would include Blaise Carrig and John Garnsey, who are the Co-Presidents of our mountain division, Paul Toner, who is the Chief Operating Officer of our lodging division, and Keith Fernandez, who is President of our real estate division. We also have terrific senior management leading all of our support functions as well as at each of our mountain resorts.
Tickers included in this excerpt: MTN
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