Alex Wasilov is sitting in Intrawest's
corporate headquarters overlooking the water in Vancouver, talking
into a speakerphone as he watches sailboats bob on the waves in the
distance, refracted through a rain-flecked window.
He is feeling
reflective. And while this Canadian transplant from Philadelphia is
looking at a different ocean than the one he grew up near, his
lifelong love of boats and boating peppers a conversation about the
outdoors.
"I do like
boats," says Wasilov, musing for a moment on a question about how
he spends his own leisure time. "But I also love skiing, and I love
to play golf and wish I could do it more."
After a long
climb up corporate ladders at a variety of companies, he was last
year named the first president of Intrawest when founder and CEO
Joe Houssian retired. At 52, this father of three children shares
his age group's growing interest in the outdoors, leisure travel
opportunities and luxury resorts.
"Understanding
the history of the leisure travel industry ... is critical for us,"
Wasilov says. "So all of us on the management team are always
traveling to get a better picture of what our consumer audience
requires."
Such travel takes
him and other top executives not just to Intrawest's own resorts
around the globe but to those of competitors, as well. As they
visit, listen, watch and learn from consumers, what they are
observing follows in many respects what Wasilov, 
a baby boomer, knows
intuitively from his own perspectives on travel, luxury and the
active outdoors.
"Our segment of
the industry is clearly being fueled by changing demographics," he
says. "We are seeing more people with more time, more money,
healthier older travelers, and we are seeing that they want more
active lifestyle opportunities.
"To a large
degree, this is going to fuel our strategy for organic growth, not
just in resort development but also in real estate, to take
advantage of more interest we are seeing in travelers investing in
second homes."
In fact, that
phenomenon is heavily influencing Intrawest's investment in its
resort-building, village-centric business model, one in which
building residential, commercial and entertainment-oriented
elements is key. The consumer-centric philosophy of the company has
also attracted the interest and capital of Fortress Investment,
which sees Intrawest as a platform for strong financial
growth.
Calling the
changing consumer demographic "a phenomenon for the entire travel
industry," Wasilov adds, "More people are traveling and seeking
unique experiences. We are very focused on seeing that our resorts
are targeted toward the newer segment that is growing, not just in
size but in demand, as well."
\With those
things in mind, and with not only organic but strategic growth
through aggressive acquisition high on Wasilov's priority list,
Intrawest is poised to take its recent momentum to the next
level.
"We are always
looking for opportunities," he says, "not just from acquisitions,
but for new opportunities to make our resorts better."
A multifaceted business background
Wasilov's rise to
the helm of Intrawest, a once publicly traded company that was
acquired and taken private by Fortress in late 2006, followed a
life voyage both in and out of the travel industry.
He studied at
Penn State University, earned an MBA from the University of Rhode
Island and eventually landed a job in 1975 with Kodak, where he
later became COO of the imaging division, a $7 billion business
with 10,000 employees.
In 1977, he was
recruited to head Xerox Corp.'s division of emerging markets,
overseeing manufacturing, sales and marketing. During that time,
his business travel took him to Europe, Russia, India and
China.
He traces his
insights into the travel industry to a subsequent appointment as
president of Rosenbluth International. He is credited with having
led the $3 billion travel management company into new arenas and
efficiencies through savvy use of technology to enhance the
family-owned business.
His financial
acumen was further strengthened after a stint as president of
Hirtle Callaghan, a financial management firm with $12 billion in
assets under management.
"At Rosenbluth, I
became very involved in trying to spearhead growth strategically,"
he recalls. "Companies like Rosenbluth were being pigeon-holed as a
traditional travel company, and the industry didn't give the
business credit for getting into e-commerce as early as they did
with airline GDSs.
"I had been
fascinated by what was going on with technology in travel early
on," Wasilov says. "With the GDSs, every transaction was
electronic. You could buy a ticket in Australia, have it serviced
in Japan and delivered in London. That amazed me, especially that
all this was going on behind the scenes and that people didn't
really know about that."
Extending that
capability to a Web-based interface was an idea that captivated
Wasilov as a corporate operations officer, and it led to his
interest in Rosenbluth.
"So we got Hal
[Rosenbluth] and the family thinking about taking the company in a
different direction," he says. "They invited me to come and join
them, and I caught the fever" of the travel business.
Wasilov helped
move the company into providing customer interfacing for Orbitz,
Travelocity and airline dot-coms. The transition from traditional
interfaces in travel management to online interfaces also captured
the interest of American Express, which bought out
Rosenbluth.
In the interim,
Wasilov was invited to sit on Intrawest's board. About the time of
his arrival in 2005, the company began exploring strategic
alternatives for its business activities, which eventually led to a
$2.8 billion tender offer from Fortress last November. Wasilov was
named president immediately afterward to lead the company and
direct its acquisition initiatives.
Wasilov's 2005
appointment to Intrawest's board of directors brought him back to
skiing, he noted, after a hiatus of seven years. A troublesome
knee, something his target demographic is familiar with, had
prompted him to give up the slopes. But Wasilov underwent knee
replacement surgery three years ago, with beneficial results. "I am
skiing better than I have ever skied," he says.
That newfound
ability has taken him back to the mountaintop in a business sense,
too: An aggressive approach to a steep slope can also be exercised
in board rooms when arguing the wisdom of acquisition opportunities
and the price to be paid. Wasilov's technology-oriented eye seems
to find intersections between travel and technology even in minor
ways.
"It was very
interesting to me that when I left skiing, everyone was using
straight, flat skis, and in this short a time technology has
changed there, too," he says. "The parabolic skis of today make a
huge difference in how well people can ski."
Expanding horizons
While Wasilov's
strategy may be fresh, the search for acquisition targets is a
familiar quest at Intrawest. "Acquisition goes back to Day 1,"
Wasilov says. "The founder of the company was an urban developer
and was convinced by an individual that an opportunity to develop
[in multiple states] a resort anchored by a ski mountain was an
opportunity to grow.
"That was some 30
years back," he recalls. "And then at an opportunistic point,
Whistler and the adjoining mountain [Blackcomb] came on the market,
and that was acquired and combined. About the same time, we bought
Copper Mountain, and we landed on a formula that created demand for
both skiing and real estate, which drove the development of beds
that brought consumers to spend more time skiing."
Intrawest found a
competitive advantage building resorts around a commercial village,
which attracted not only skiers but others to nightlife,
restaurants and the vacation environment.
"That, in turn,
drove more demand for real estate and more demand for mountain
activities, which created a perpetual growth cycle and new
opportunities," he notes.
Most leisure
travelers tend to think of Intrawest as an operator of ski
destination resorts. It operates three high-profile resorts in
Colorado alone. In addition to the recently added Steamboat
Springs, a deal completed earlier this year, it owns Copper
Mountain and continues to develop the base of Winter Park.
Intrawest operates Winter Park as part of an agreement with the
city of Denver and is developing a base village of resort
amenities, condos and other accommodations on property it acquired
from Denver.
But the company's
global footprint includes warm weather resorts, as well -- an area
of likely growth -- including Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in
the Florida panhandle and Big Island Country Club in Kaiula-Kona,
Hawaii.
Warmer weather
factors into company efforts toward year-round vacation
experiences. Even its mountain resorts increasingly rely on
four-season revenue.
"Our primary
focus right now is to develop the market and operate and provide
access to unique locations that create competitive advantage,"
Wasilov says. "That covers both warm and cold weather, winter and
summer. We do have an appetite to grow the company through
acquisitions and to grow the company organically, to earn more
market share and create demand for resort locations."
At Whistler, the
best-known of Intrawest's holdings, summer occupancy has begun to
exceed winter traffic, the company reports. Hiking, fishing,
whitewater rafting and mountain biking in terrain parks on the
slopes, accessed by chair lifts, are bringing more active travelers
to Vancouver in spring, summer and fall.
Four-season
development, Wasilov says, has become Intrawest's stock in
trade.
On to the Caribbean, Asia, Europe
Ask Wasilov where
he is looking these days for acquisition opportunities and he gets
a bit more circumspect. Throw a dart at a world map and nothing
seems excluded.
But heightened
attention to opportunities at warm-weather resorts -- maybe
Wasilov's interest in boating has a bearing here, too -- clearly
has the company showing interest in the Caribbean, especially where
the model of multilevel real estate and commercial development fits
well.
"We believe that
the bubble of consumers that are getting to a point in their lives
where they have more time and more energy to spend on experiential
leisure activities will continue to grow for quite some time,"
Wasilov says.
"I think there is
trend for homeowners to downsize primary residences and invest in
secondary homes to enjoy life more fully, and we believe that those
investments in time and commitment will be made to destinations
that differentiate themselves.
"We want to apply
our knowledge in creating places where people want to be, but with
a broader set of locations both in North America and
internationally."
On the other side
of the Atlantic, the company is already developing four resort
locations in Europe, and it is partnering with developers in a wide
range of other global locations.
"We are pretty
interested in the Caribbean and south of the U.S. border," he says.
"We also think there are opportunities in the Asian area from both
a mountain and warm-weather resort perspective. There are a lot of
resorts in Asia that might benefit from new ownership, but, of
course, it is a bit premature to commit to or communicate any
specifics."
On the winter
side, China is a rapidly growing and evolving ski market, Japan has
a robust ski industry and New Zealand has great skiing
opportunities, Wasilov notes. But he demurs about any favorites
among that group of countries.
Banking on
markets where populations are growing is probably a safe bet with
Intrawest, he concedes.
There also are
major initiatives going on within the company involving existing
holdings. Colorado's Copper Mountain and Winter Park are two areas
where money is going in and results are supporting decisions on
condominium, commercial and apres ski entertainment
development.
Turning green to gold
If you ride the
Timberline Lift at Copper Mountain, one of the things you see, in
addition to magnificent views of the Continental Divide, are small,
white signs affixed to the lift stanchions that read "Copper
Mountain is 100% Wind Powered."
In an industry in
which the environment represents a significant part of the value of
the products being marketed, being green can mean gold in terms of
investment, foresight and responsibility, Wasilov says. Making the
financial and the environmental issues fit hand in glove is another
part of what he wants Intrawest to accomplish.
"Just from a
cultural standpoint, sustainability and a respect for the
environment is part of our company's culture," Wasilov says. "That
passion ... attracts a certain type of person. Most people want to
work for Intrawest because they love to ski and love to be
outdoors. They want to work for someone that has a sense of
responsibility, not from a cultural perspective but from a personal
perspective."
The same is true
for consumers, he says, and that makes environmental sensitivity as
much a part of the company's business model as its marketing and
product development.
"We deal with the
U.S. Forest Service," Wasilov says. "In warm-weather resorts, we
are protectors of the waterways and the beaches we touch. It is not
just our culture, but our business that depends on providing the
cleanest, healthiest and most environmentally friendly solutions.
We hope that people make decisions in the future about the types of
companies they deal with, and environmental stewardship will be one
of the platforms that are very important."
Intrawest is
looking forward to an opportunity to make it clear to consumers
that its luxury resort offerings are environmentally sound,
enhancing the value of the experience, whether it is a beach
vacation or the exhilaration of skiing in the high
country.
With the
selection of Whistler and Blackcomb as host ski areas for the 2010
Winter Olympic events, the company anticipates global attention to
its world-class resorts -- and to its reputation.
"It is going to
be a tremendous opportunity and one that also allows us to showcase
our properties and what we do," Wasilov predicts. "We expect the
exposure to Whistler-Blackcomb will create marketing leverage in
terms of generating new interest.
"When you combine
that with our new partners, we are very bullish on
growth."
To contact reporter Dan Luzadder, send e-mail to [email protected].