Ambassador Richard Burt, Wes Edens, and Mike Shannon have been named trustees of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation, announced Foundation vice president Trisha Worthington.
“These gentlemen bring a wide variety of skills and background to the Foundation's Board of Trustees,” said Worthington. “From Richard's and Wes' experience as ski racers to Mike's inside knowledge of the ski resort industry to their shared business acumen, their collective expertise makes for fantastic additions.”
Burt, who currently lives in Washington, D.C., is chairman of Diligence LLC, a commercial intelligence and security firm. He grew up in Salt Lake City, where he developed a lifelong love of skiing. His favorite ski areas were Alta, Park City and Solitude, and prior to attending college at Cornell, where he earned his bachelor's degree in government, he enjoyed ski racing and worked as a ski patrolman and instructor.
Also, Burt currently serves as international director of the Washington-based government affairs firm, Barbour, Griffith and Rogers, and as an advisor to the Carlyle Group, a private equity investment firm. He has a distinguished career in Washington including positions as the Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (1985-1989) and the U.S. Chief Negotiator in the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks with the former Soviet Union in 1991.
He has a master's in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and was selected as an Advanced Research Fellow at the U.S. Naval War College.
Edens, a former alpine ski racer in Montana, has been the chairman and CEO of Fortress Investment Group, LLC in New York City since co-founding the firm in 1998. Edens also serves as the chairman and CEO of Newcastle Investment Corp., the firm's real estate securities business. He serves on several boards including Brookdale Living Communities Inc., Italfondiario S.P.A. and Mapeley LTD, and serves as chairman and CEO of Global Signal Inc.
Prior to forming Fortress, Edens was a partner and managing director of BlackRock Financial Management Inc., where he headed BlackRock Asset Investors, a private equity fund. In addition, he was formerly a partner and managing director of Lehman Brothers. He received his bachelor's degree in finance from Oregon State University.
Shannon is the president and CEO of KSL Resorts in La Quinta, Calif., which manages some of America's most renown resorts and private clubs including Arizona Biltmore & Spa (Phoenix), Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa (Maui, Hawaii) and Hotel del Coronado (San Diego), La Costa Resort and Spa (Carlsbad, California) and La Quinta Resort & Club (near Palm Springs, California), which the company operates as one fully integrated resort with the neighboring golf club community of PGA WEST. A marketing expert and industry visionary, he co-founded the company in 1992.
Previously, Shannon was president and CEO of Vail Associates, Inc., where he succeeded in transforming these properties into world-renown, year-round destination resorts. Currently, Shannon is a member of the board of directors of Conseco, Inc., ING DIRECT and Vail Valley Foundation. He currently serves as president of the Palm Valley School and is a member of the Young Presidents Organization. He is a former director of TCA Cable Television, Inc., and Startek, Inc.
Raised in Brookfield, Wis., Shannon graduated from the University Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor's degree in finance and marketing. He earned his master's in accounting and finance from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He and his wife, Mary Sue, have three children and live in Rancho Mirage, California.
