TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s (JHMR) soon-to-be CEO Doug Pierini has returned to his roots in Jackson Hole after gaining two decades of management and leadership experience at ski resorts located all over the world.
“I came back here and it’s like I never left. It was the big dream for 20 years when I was off doing all of these other things.”
Doug Pierini
Pierini will replace Mary Kate Buckley as CEO starting this summer on June 1. In the wake of the announcement, he shared with Buckrail how his vast experience ultimately led him to his future role at JHMR, and back to where his career began in the 1990s.
As a ski instructor and trainer for JHMR’s Mountain Sports School in 1994, Pierini said that he felt an immediate connection to the valley and surrounding mountains. Eventually, he was promoted to ski school manager in the late 90s.
In 2003, Pierini left the region when the opportunity arose to be the ski school director at the Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort in southern Lake Tahoe, Calif. The position eventually led to his role as director of resort services for Alpine Meadows and Homewood Ski Resorts in Lake Tahoe.
“I definitely decided at some point that I wanted to run a resort,” Pierini said. “I just started on that path of taking on more and more responsibility, learning more and developing myself professionally with that goal in mind.”
His next endeavor was working as the vice president of skier services for Vail Resorts’ Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado. He then went on to lead other Vail Resorts: Kirkwood in California, Okemo Mountain, Stowe and Mt. Sunapee in Vermont, 23 resorts located across the eastern U.S., multiple resorts in the west from Tahoe up to Whistler Blackcomb in Canada and three ski resorts in Australia.
Pierini said that he dealt with many unforeseen mountain resort emergencies over the years. During the COVID pandemic, he managed the openings and closures at multiple overseas resorts in Australia. He also maintained critical operations at Heavenly and Kirkwood in Calif. when the Caldor Fire came up to the doorsteps of both ski resorts in 2021. During the fire, Pierini assisted displaced employees in securing lodging and oversaw the use of snowmaking systems to help fight the fire.
“I’ve learned a ton and gained so much exposure in the entire industry,” Pierini said. “It’s also been hard, moving our kids around back and forth across the country.”
Pierini missed Jackson Hole and kept his ear to the ground for a way to return. He and his wife, Leigh, who was also a ski school trainer at JHMR in the ’90s, often spoke about their desire to move the family back to Jackson. Then, as fate would have it, Pierini was offered the role of chief operating officer at JHMR in 2024.
“As chief operating officer, my eye was on running the resort … helping Mary Kate with the oversight of all the departments and strategic planning,” Pierini said.
As CEO, Pierini emphasized that he doesn’t plan to change how everything is run at JHMR. Rather, his vision is to keep the resort on its same successful trajectory, as an independent resort.
“It’s really cool to come to a place that’s functioning really well,” Pierini said. “It’s like, OK, how can I take it to the next level and keep improving it for the employees, guests and the community.”
Pierini told Buckrail that he’s now excited to stay put in Jackson, back at the resort that ignited his passion to work in the ski industry in the first place.
“I came back here and it’s like I never left,” Pierini said. “It was the big dream for 20 years when I was off doing all of these other things. It’s still a lot of the same people here. As much as there’s so much focus on change in the community and the mountain, it’s still Jackson Hole and I felt that right away when I got back here.”
Pierini said he feels like he is “back home” where he belongs.
