For years, different groups and individuals have expressed frustration with Vail Resorts. From the Epic Pass to employee treatment, and on-mountain services to the business structures. One consistent critic of Vail Resorts’ strategies is Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince, who also owns The Park Record with his wife, Tatiana.
This summer, Vail has faced several lawsuits, restructured its board of directors and announced new company-wide “Epic Experience” branding, as well as changes to the branding of individual resorts.
Most recently, the publicly traded company has been the target of a Wall Street battle with Oasis Management, an investment group with eyes set on changing the business.
Oasis is widely recognized as an “activist investor,” meaning when it invests in companies, it does so with an intent to change how the company operates. Because Vail Resorts is a publicly traded company, Oasis can make these changes if a majority of stockholders agree with the proposals.
Calls for new leadership
When investors propose changes to company leadership, it’s done through what’s known as a “proxy fight.” In this case, Oasis will make its proposals at a stockholders meeting, and stockholders will be given the opportunity to vote by proxy, using a card instead of responding in person.
Speculation regarding Oasis’ involvement in a potential proxy fight at Vail Resorts was confirmed last week. On Sept. 11, Vail Resorts released a statement that Oasis intended to nominate four new people to its board of directors. Vail Resorts’ board typically has 10 seats. Among the nominees are two Utahns: venture capitalist Bryce Roberts and ski racer Picabo Street. Bob Chapek, former CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and Florida-based financial manager M. Ashton Hudson were also listed as nominees.
Proxy fights, as the one Oasis has started, are relatively uncommon.
An anonymous source told Vail Daily that proxy fights are hard to win. The source said this fight would be a challenge for Oasis because it could be assumed that majority shareholders might vote to continue Vail management.
This week, Oasis made the nominations official with a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
In the statement, Oasis and the nominees collectively said they believe Vail’s assets are “irreplaceable,” “scarce, (and) high-quality,” and called for “a more engaged and accountable board.”
Changing the board, the statement says, would bring a “fresh perspective” to help with increasing the company’s value by improving guest experience, pricing and other hospitality assets, all things which have been criticized by the public in the past.
At Vail’s 2026 annual meeting, stockholders can vote on a new board.
In addition to the nominees from Oasis, Vail Resorts will likely propose its own nominees, looking to fill the vacancy following Sue Decker’s upcoming departure. Vail Resorts said in a statement earlier this month that Decker will officially step down at the Annual Meeting. She held was director for 11 years.
A date for the meeting has not been set.
The proxy fight
The Board of Directors would primarily be responsible for hiring or firing the CEO. So, if Oasis gets its nominees on the board, they could potentially oust current CEO Rob Katz.
In the statement earlier this week, the nominees and Oasis collectively expressed dissatisfaction with Katz and the current leadership.
“This is my way of bringing back the magic of skiing to even more people and families,” Street said in a statement following her nomination. “It’s time to make these mountains more welcoming, more fun and a better run for everyone.”
One potential outcome of a new CEO could be a move to sell off some of Vail Resorts’ properties. Over the summer, Semafor has reported on Oasis’ strategy to push for the company to sell its resorts in what’s known as an “asset-light” business model.
Prince, who is an advocate for this strategy and well-known for his campaign to buy Park City Mountain, explained that when interest rates are high, businesses tend to sell off their assets.
He also echoed criticism that Vail Resorts’ current model, including the structure of the Epic Pass, removes the individuality of the resorts. Prince compared a reimagined Epic Pass to the existing Ikon Pass, where resorts like Alta or Snowbird are included without being owned by the same company, saying this structure allows mountains to feel more unique and differentiated.
Selling off individual resorts, following a franchise model, and making the Epic Pass more like the Ikon Pass, in Prince’s view, would solve these problems.
“It makes sense for Vail, especially when there are buyers that are a little crazy like me, willing to take over an asset, continue to allow your franchise and its customers to use that asset, and would invest in that asset and make it better,” Prince said. “That is just a no-brainer.”
Earlier this month, the company announced new, individual marketing plans for each of its resorts. Park City Mountain’s branding is “Larger than Life,” a nod to it being the largest resort in North America.
What it could mean for Park City
Until its annual meeting, Vail Resorts and Oasis will have to convince stakeholders to vote for their nominees. Depending on the structure of the vote, as well as how many board members are changed out, it could mean anything from business as usual to a new CEO and a new owner of Park City Mountain.
This week’s filing from Oasis is the official notice to stockholders. Proxy vote cards will be sent closer to the date of the Annual Meeting.
Vail Mayor Barry Davis said in an interview with Vail Daily that the town is preparing for the potential impacts of the proxy fight. Davis said he would be “ferociously protective” of its residents, while recognizing the complex relationship between the resort and the city.
In Park City, leadership will likely watch closely any impact the proxy fight could ultimately have on the community and the intentions of a new owner or management strategy, if those were to occur. Any changes could impact the resort’s development as well as relationships between resort leadership and government officials in Park City and Summit County.
Park City Mayor Ryan Dickey did not return a request for comment by publication.
Oasis Management and Roberts also did not return requests for comment. Vail Resorts declined to comment beyond the Sept. 11 press release.
