Leadership Changes For Hotham And Park City
Current VP + GM of Hotham, Tina Burford, has been appointed Senior Director of Skier Services at Park City, the largest ski resort in the United States. The move opens up the opportunity to strengthen alignment of Vail Resorts’ Victorian resorts with dual-resort leadership by Falls Creek’s VP + GM Richard Phillips, who will take the lead at both resorts from September 14.
Rich has led the team at Falls Creek for nearly 6 years and has more than 25 years of experience in the ski industry in Australia, including former roles in sales and marketing at both Perisher and Thredbo. During his time at Falls Creek, Rich has developed strong partnerships with the local community, which are critical to resort operations and the success of the resort as a winter destination. He has also been a strong advocate for improved snowmaking on key areas of terrain at Falls Creek to improve access to lodging and village services, enhancing the resort and guest experience.
“This multi-resort leadership model has proven successful in our operation of resorts in North America, creating deeper connections, better efficiencies, and encouraging more collaboration across resorts that are closely related based on size, scale, and geography,” said Jody Churich, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Vail Resorts’ West Region.
Tina Burford has been a long-time leader in the ski industry with a career spanning more than four decades with 32 years at Perisher, including as the resort services director and two years at Hotham as the VP and GM. During Tina’s time at Hotham, she was instrumental in revitalisation efforts across the resort, including reimagining the overall resort experience and the Snowsports School experience. Specifically, she led the redesign and relocation of the Kids Snowsport School to enhance the beginner and family experience with a fresh indoor space and new dedicated learning areas on snow. At the same time, she and her team successfully repurposed the former learning space to implement a progression-focused terrain park and freestyle zone for resort skiers and riders.
“I am excited to see Tina take on a critical role for our company and team at Park City Mountain in the U.S. after such an accomplished career in Australia,” said Churich.
