Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN) stated that Michele Romanow has been appointed to the Company’s board of directors, effective October 17, as part of the company’s acquisition of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc.
Romanow is the co-founder of various technology start-up companies, including Clearbanc, a technology company that provides financial services for freelancers in the United States; Buytopia.ca, a Canadian e-commerce company; and SnapSaves, which was purchased by Groupon Inc. in June 2014.
She served as a senior marketing executive for Groupon from June 2014 to March 2016. Romanow was also a member of the board of directors of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc., which was acquired by the company effective October 17.
“We’re thrilled to have Michele join our board,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts. “Michele brings an incredible background in web-based commerce and digital marketing and consumer advertising, as well her very successful experiences as a serial entrepreneur. We look forward to having Michele’s insight as we work towards integrating Whistler Blackcomb into Vail Resorts.”
Romanow is currently one of the venture capitalists on the series Dragons’ Den on CBC, a Canadian television broadcast network. She is also on the board of directors of Shad Valley International, a non-profit organization that works with youth to unleash their entrepreneurial and innovative potential.
The new board member holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from Queen’s University. While at Queen’s University, Romanow was the recipient of the Tricolour Award, the highest award granted at Queen’s to recognize outstanding contributions to the university. She was named a “Millennial on a Mission” by Forbes in 2013, the only Canadian to be featured on the list, and named as one of Canada’s top 100 most powerful women. She was also a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2014.
Romanow grew up in Calgary, Canada and spends her time between Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco. She is an active skier and outdoor enthusiast. She is the Company’s ninth board member, joining Sue Decker, Roland Hernandez, Rob Katz, John Redmond, Hillary Schneider, Bruce Sewell, John Sorte and Peter Vaughn.
Vail Resorts’ subsidiaries operate 10 mountain resorts and three urban ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada; Perisher in Australia; Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan. Vail Resorts also owns and/or manages hotels under the RockResorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, WY. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts Inc.
