Chief Ski Exec Resigns

Roger McCarthy, chief operating officer of Breckenridge Ski Resort and co-president of Vail Resorts’ mountain division, announced his resignation Tuesday after seven years in Summit County.

McCarthy, often the public voice of Breckenridge and Keystone resorts during most of the last decade, will be joining a private investment company to develop a new ski resort in Russia.

McCarthy’s new project — Rosa Khutor resort — is located near the city of Sochi in southwestern Russia, one of three finalists bidding on the 2014 Winter Games (cities in Austria and South Korea are also in the running).

Moscow-based Interros, the private investment firm, said on its website that plans for the ski area include multiple growth steps over the next five years in order to reach its maximum goal of 9,500 visitors per day.

“It’s a bittersweet decision, but I have been offered the rare opportunity to be involved in leading the development of an entirely new resort from the ground up,” said McCarthy, whose final day will be May 4.

“Not many people have (this opportunity). There hasn’t been a resort built in this country in 25 years since Beaver Creek.”