Vail Resorts shareholder speaks out after penning scathing letter
Taylor Schmidt with Late Apex Partners says he has received more than 100 emails from people thanking him for his critique
A Vail Resorts investor made waves in the ski industry this week when he published a scathing report on the company, calling for the resignation of CEO Kirsten Lynch and former CEO Rob Katz, who serves as the executive chair of the board for the ski resort giant.
But not much is known about the investor, Taylor Schmidt, and his company, Late Apex Partners, and how much stake the company has in Vail Resorts.
Analysts who cover the company were unable to get any additional comment from Schmidt, and Vail Resorts said it was the first communication the company had received from him.
The Vail Daily was able to obtain a statement from Schmidt, who said since sending out the letter, he has been dismissed as a small-time investor even though he has more equity in the company “than quite a few board members,” he said, describing his effort as a David vs. Goliath situation.
“The report’s merit should stand on its own regardless of who wrote it,” Schmidt told the Vail Daily in an email. “Either the ideas are right or wrong. That is up to the customer/employee to decide.”
Analysts who spoke to the Vail Daily said they suspected Late Apex Partners as being a small-time investment firm but weren’t willing to dismiss the research Schmidt put into his presentation.
There’s just too much work in the presentation for it to be a headline grab or a hoax, said one analyst who could not speak on the record due to compliance issues.
The presentation dives into the hard numbers, detailing how the company has seen a 53% drop in stock price and a 38% drop in free cash flow since Lynch took over as CEO, and points out that Lynch herself has acquired no stock in the company during her tenure as CEO.
But Schmidt also cites some of his boots-on-the-ground reporting, using quotes from a former marketing executive and a former senior director as evidence of a toxic work environment at Vail Resorts.
The former marketing executive said every colleague that they worked with who has left the company shared the same sentiment that poor leadership from Lynch was to blame for their departures.
Schmidt had better things to say about former CEO Rob Katz, saying Late Apex has “nothing but respect for his leadership and legacy,” but also said it’s time for Katz to step down from his role as executive chair of the board, as well.
“Katz remaining as Exec Chair will prevent any future leader from being able to challenge the status quo,” Schmidt says in his report.
In his correspondence with the Vail Daily, Schmidt said he has already received more than 100 emails from skiers, employees and community members thanking him for the Late Apex report, saying it gave a voice to how they feel.
“For me, this is about fixing Vail for the employees and customers,” Schmidt wrote in his email. “I want to see the business flourish so that it can support and invest in the communities and people who see their life’s work in ski culture. A successful Vail should equal successful employees, guests, and communities. Today it doesn’t.”
Chief among Schmidt’s issues with Vail Resorts is the company’s failure to change, despite the barrage of bad press and criticism it has seen in recent years.
“Why won’t the board listen to their stakeholders?” he said. “That is the only important question for me.”
Vail Resorts, in a statement issued Wednesday, said it is listening.
“We engage frequently with our many different shareholders and value their feedback,” said John Plack, Vail Resorts’ director of communications for Vail Mountain and the company’s other resorts in Colorado and Utah.
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