SAM Magazine—Gorham, N.H., Dec. 3, 2024—Vail Resorts has appointed Brandon Swartz general manager of Wildcat Resort, effective immediately. Swartz, who currently serves as general manager of Attitash Mountain, will now oversee operations at both resorts, fostering greater collaboration between the neighboring properties.Credit Wildcat Mountain

“[Swartz] is not only a leader at Attitash, but he is also a leader in the local community, and I am excited to see him formalize bringing these two talented resorts together as one team focused on operational excellence,” said Tim Baker, senior vice president and chief operations officer of the Eastern Region at Vail Resorts.

Swartz brings more than two decades of experience in the ski industry to the role. He began his career as a ski instructor at Mount Snow, Vt., and later pursued a degree in ski resort management at Lyndon State College, Vt. He has held roles in a variety of different departments across several ski resorts, including ski patrol at Burke Mountain, Vt., the race department at Keystone Resort, Colo., lift maintenance at Hunter Mountain, N.Y., and lift operations at Heavenly Mountain Resort, Calif., and then mountain operations at Wilmot Mountain, Wis. Before joining Attitash in 2022, Swartz held his first general manager position at Hidden Valley, Miss.

He currently serves on the boards of the Mount Washington Valley Housing Coalition and Ski New Hampshire, the state’s ski areas association. Swartz will continue to be based out of Attitash while splitting his time between the two resorts.

“We have always had strong collaboration between Attitash and Wildcat teams, from pre-season planning to combined winter seasonal staff onboarding sessions to our end-of-season employee ski and ride days,” Swartz said. “I aim to serve the community as well as our resort teams. Both Attitash and Wildcat are staples in our local community. I am incredibly proud of the collective success our teams have celebrated over the past several years, and I am excited to continue to unlock the future successes of our resorts.”