Intrawest Announces Leadership Change
02 Novembre 2006 - 5:07PM
PR Newswire (US)
Company Founder Joe Houssian Announces Retirement; Alex Wasilov
Assumes Leadership Role VANCOUVER, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Intrawest ULC ("Intrawest") today announced that Joe Houssian,
Intrawest founder and chief executive officer, will retire after 30
years with the company. Alex Wasilov, president and chief operating
officer, will assume Houssian's responsibilities at Intrawest
effective immediately, and report to Wes Edens, chief executive
officer and Bill Doniger, managing director at Fortress Investment
Group LLC. Houssian has agreed to participate in an advisory
capacity to assist Intrawest going forward. As president and chief
operating officer, Wasilov will assume full responsibility for all
of the operations and management of the company. Wasilov brings
more than 30 years of experience at Xerox, Eastman Kodak and
Rosenbluth International, and a demonstrated track record of
successfully growing multi-national organizations. "I have a
tremendous amount of pride in the company we have built over the
last 30 years," said Joe Houssian, founder and former chief
executive officer at Intrawest. "With the successful conclusion of
the Fortress transaction, Intrawest is poised for a new era of
growth and expansion. Alex joined Intrawest two years ago and he
has proven to be an exceptional leader and the perfect executive to
lead Intrawest forward into this next phase of development. I have
full confidence in his abilities to assume the leadership position
at Intrawest, as does Fortress." "I have the unique opportunity to
assume the leadership position at a company with leading market
share and tremendous momentum," said Alex Wasilov, president and
chief operating officer at Intrawest. "Throughout my career, I have
participated in building high growth, global organizations, and I
look forward to working together with Fortress to lead Intrawest
into the next era of growth. The culture of integrity, customer
focus and innovation are all values that I embrace, and my goal is
to build upon the momentum Intrawest has created under the
leadership of Joe Houssian, and to establish Intrawest as the world
leader in destination resorts." Wasilov first joined Intrawest in
2005 as a member of the Board of Directors, and in April 2006, he
was appointed to his current position as president and chief
operating officer. Prior to joining Intrawest, Wasilov had a
signature business career operating worldwide businesses. From 1975
to 1997 he worked for Eastman Kodak where he ultimately attained
the role of chief operating officer for consumer imaging with
responsibility over all aspects of a $7 billion entity with a staff
of over 10,000 people. From Eastman Kodak, he was recruited to
Xerox Corporation as president of emerging markets which included
Europe, China, Russia, India, and other parts of the world where he
had responsibility for everything from manufacturing through to
sales and marketing. Subsequently, Wasilov was appointed to the
position of president of Rosenbluth International, a travel
management company operating in 57 countries with sales in excess
of $3 billion. This environment gave him a deep understanding of
the travel and leisure industry worldwide. Immediately prior to
joining Intrawest, Wasilov was president of Hirtle Callaghan, a $12
billion financial asset management firm for which he had overall
management responsibility. Alex studied at Pennsylvania State
University and he earned a Masters in Business Administration at
the University of Rhode Island. Intrawest ULC is a world leader in
destination resorts and leisure travel. The company has interests
in 10 resorts at North America's most popular mountain
destinations, including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the
2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Intrawest owns Canadian
Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world,
and an interest in Abercrombie & Kent, the world leader in
luxury adventure travel. The Intrawest network also includes
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Club Intrawest-a
private resort club with nine locations throughout North America.
Intrawest develops real estate at its resorts and at other
locations across North America and in Europe. Intrawest is
headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information,
visit http://www.intrawest.com/. CONTACT: Ian Galbraith, director,
corporate communications and media relations, at (604) 643-1586 or
at DATASOURCE: Intrawest Corporation CONTACT: Ian Galbraith,
director, corporate communications and media relations, at (604)
643-1586 or at
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