Welcome to the September edition of Snow People, where we highlight happenings to prominent ski industry and supplier personnel.

Ryan Locher, Bryce Mountain, Virginia

At nearly 38 years old, Ryan Locher has assumed the role of general manager at Bryce Resort in Virginia. Locher's father and uncle founded the resort in 1966, and both still work there during the winter months, along with his mother and aunt. Ryan first started working at the family mountain 14 years ago as mountain manager.

“There's going to be a learning curve for me,” Locher said. “I'm going to take my time and dive into everything I need to know. … I've been slowly transitioning into GM with the help of Sally Montrey, who is the assistant general manager. It's been a great transition. So far so good.”

Dave Likins, Mammoth Resorts

Dave Likins has been promoted to president of Mammoth Resorts, Calif. Rusty Gregory, chairman and CEO of Mammoth Resorts, signaled that Mammoth is poised to pursue a number of growth and expansion opportunities under Likins. Likins spearheaded the acquisition of Big Bear Mountain Resorts in 2014 as senior VP of real estate and acquisitions, and led the resort as the COO and then as president of Big Bear. Earlier in his career, Likins was CEO of Kirkwood Mountain Resort, where he led the sale of the resort to Vail Resorts in 2012.

Under the new management structure, Mammoth Resorts COOs Mark Brownlie and Eric Clark will take over responsibility for Big Bear Mountain Resorts operations starting Nov. 1.

Rich McCoy, Pico, Vermont

Rich McCoy has been promoted to director of operations at Pico Mountain, Vt., which is owned and operated under Killington's umbrella. McCoy joined Killington in 1999 and managed the retail operations for several years. He will continue to oversee revenue management of the resort's mountain bike park and adventure center during the summer months.

“Rich has shown time and time again that he can surpass expectations, and will report directly to me as a member of the Killington executive team,” said Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort and Pico Mountain.

Ralph Lewis, Shawnee Peak, Maine

Ralph Lewis has been named general manager of Shawnee Peak Ski Area. Lewis succeeds long-time GM Edward Rock, who is retiring after 34 years at Shawnee Peak, and who will become a senior advisor through 2017. Lewis will officially start in late September.

Most recently, Lewis has served as director of skiing operations at Loon Mountain, where he worked for 19 years. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and Bridgton Academy.

“We are excited to have Ralph join us,” said Shawnee owner Chet Homer. “He is highly regarded in the industry and will be a great fit for Shawnee Peak, and his experience will help us continue to grow our business.”

Brian Rosser, MountainGuard

Brian Rosser joined the management team at MountainGuard as the director of risk management and education. Brian assumed his role following the retirement of Jimmy Lawrence, who has provided loss control services and educational workshops for the ski industry over the past 16 years. Rosser will continue helping to develop and present curriculum for the NSAA Fall Workshop series. He will also develop, coordinate, and execute enhanced loss control service plans.

An attorney and ski industry veteran, Rosser has worked at a number of ski resorts in the Southeast and Colorado in lift maintenance, teaching/coaching, patrolling, risk management, grooming, snowmaking, incident investigation, and the development of terrain park procedures. He has also served as an adjunct professor of Ski Area Operations at Colorado Mountain College.

Robert Stewart and Steven Wolfe, Inntopia

Robert Stewart has been hired as Inntopia's scrum master*. Originally from Morrisville, Vt., Stewart earned his college degree at Champlain College. He was previously employed on the development team at Realpage, Inc., where he pursued and acquired his Agile certification as scrum master.

Steven Wolfe is the company's new senior developer and joins the Inntopia Bulgers team. Originally from Saskatchewan, Canada, Wolfe graduated from Ferris State University in Michigan in 2006. Before joining Inntopia, Wolfe led the development of MusicStoreLive.com and now resides in Winooski, Vt.

*In case you were wondering, a scrum master is the facilitator for a product development team that uses scrum, a rugby analogy for a development methodology that allows a team to self-organize and make changes quickly. The scrum master manages the process for how information is exchanged.

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