Alterra Mountain Company Names Former Green Beret as New CEO

Several months after announcing the departure of its previous chief executive, Alterra Mountain Company has named a new head, Kelly Vohs, a former Green Beret and longtime business leader. 

Vohs has spent almost three decades leading “customer-facing, operationally complex businesses across hospitality, real estate, and technology,” Alterra said in a news release.

His most recent role was as CEO of SafetyCulture, an operations platform for businesses. Vohs’ new role with Alterra won’t be his first in hospitality. 

Earlier in his career, he worked for BR Guest Hospitality, a New York restaurant group with more than 20 restaurants, and held leadership roles at several hotels, including as general manager of the Boca Raton Resort & Club and the Waldorf Astoria Chicago, and as opening general manager of the Conrad Chicago.

As a Green Beret, Vohs served with the U.S. Army’s 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, and saw four combat deployments. 

“Kelly has spent his career running businesses where thousands of employees show up every day to take care of people, from iconic resorts to communities that tens of thousands of families call home,” said Eric Resnick, Chairman of the Board of Alterra, in the release. “With snow beginning to fall, our teams preparing the mountains and guests planning their winters, Kelly will take the helm at exactly the right moment. The Board and I could not be more excited to welcome him to Alterra.”

Vohs said some of his best days have been on a mountain. 

“I’m excited to come back to Colorado and help the Alterra Mountain Company team create those days for millions of guests. It takes a lot of people to make that happen—lift operators, instructors, groomers, chefs, housekeepers, and the people behind the scenes guests never see,” he said.

Vohs added that his first job was in a restaurant, so he knows that this is a team sport. “A great day on the mountain is won or lost by those teams. My job is to back them up so they can do their best work and love doing it,” he said.

Vohs and his family will make Denver their home, where Alterra is headquartered. On his Substack, Vohs shares posts about work, leadership, and life. In one, he connected his first time throwing a hand grenade to micromanagement.

“Micromanaging done for the right reasons has a name. It’s called help. If you’re holding the grenade for the first time, someone standing next to you who understands the mechanics of that little baseball of death is helpful,” Vohs wrote. “Done for the wrong reasons, it destroys trust.”

Vohs appointment follows the departure of former Alterra CEO Jared Smith, which the company announced in March of this year. More recently, as talk swirled that Alterra might leave Colorado, the company struck a deal with local leaders to stay in Denver and move to a new building. 

Vohs arrives amid what appears to be an anxious time for the ski business. While Alterra is private and doesn’t share its financial results, its main competitor, Vail Resorts, has seen a downturn in pass sales for the upcoming season after a historically rough winter out West. Alterra also recently laid off some employees.

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