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Kirby Brown new president, COO of Panorama

Long-time manager, community activist leaving town that has always ‘felt like home’
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In less than 15 years, Kirby Brown has gone from cleaning a ski resort to managing one.

In a press release issued Monday, Dave Brownlie, President and Chief Operating Officer of Whistler-Blackcomb, announced Brown was being promoted from Director of Resort and Lodging Experience at Whistler Blackcomb to President and COO at Panorama Mountain Village, in Invermere.

“Kirby’s passion and good nature will certainly be missed, but it is these exact qualities which make him the ideal choice to lead Panorama into the future,” Brownlie said.

“Kirby’s proven track record in business development, combined with his knowledge of our industry are valuable additions to the strong team at Panorama.”

Panorama is currently owned by Intrawest, parent company of Whistler-Blackcomb.

Brown was first hired as a night cleaner for Whistler Mountain Ski Corp. in 1993, and was promoted to the position of Quality Assurance Coordinator a few years later.

During the amalgamation of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, Brown was appointed as Merger Coordinator, and was later promoted to Employee Housing and Services Manager, eventually taking on the title of Director of Employee Experience in 1999.

“One great thing about Intrawest is that people are always interested in what you’re going to do with your future, and I had always expressed interest in taking on a general manager role one day, when they felt I was ready,” Brown explained in an interview Tuesday.

While Brown has had great success working for Whistler-Blackcomb, he says he has never been “title-driven.”

“I never wanted anyone to feel in any way stymied or intimidated by a title. I’d rather go by Kirby than anything else.”

When the opportunity came up at Panorama about two weeks ago, Brownlie asked Brown if he would like to be considered for the opportunity. After going through the interview process, they finally reached an agreement on Friday, which means Brown has to be at Panorama on Dec. 17 to start his new job.

That doesn’t leave him much time to say goodbye to the town he’s grown to love.

The self-described “small town kid at heart,” came to Whistler from Lunenburg, a small fishing community in Nova Scotia, for the first time in 1986.

“I just remember looking at that mountain, and in the weirdest way, just wanting to wrap my arms around it,” Brown said Tuesday. “It just felt like home to me.”

Over his years working and living in Whistler and Pemberton, Brown has also been very active in the community — he was chair of the Tourism and Hospitality Education and Training Consortium, and has been a board member of the Whistler Housing Authority; go2, a tourism industry employment program; Whistler Healthy Communities; playgroundbuilders.org.; Whistler Blackcomb Environmental Fund; and WorkLife B.C.

With all of his ties to the community, making the decision to leave wasn’t easy.

“I’ve made a ton of great friends, learned a huge amount from my time in Whistler — both on a personal level and a professional basis — and this place will always be deep, deep within my heart and soul,” Brown said.

“…I anticipate that my time in Whistler and Pemberton isn’t done. I think there’s a future for me here.”

After the announcement of his promotion was made, Brown did a tour of different departments at Whistler-Blackcomb to say goodbye to coworkers and friends.

“Those conversations were some of the hardest conversations I’ve had in my life,” he said.

While Brown is sad to be leaving Whistler and missing out on the challenges and excitement the Olympics will bring to the area in two years, he sees his promotion as an exciting opportunity to learn about a new part of the province with a great history and incredibly friendly people.

“I’m a big community person, and from what I’ve seen of Invermere and Panorama, it’s a very open, welcoming community.”

Brown says Whistler-Blackcomb management hasn’t selected someone to take over his position, but they are looking at a group of internal candidates who he has the utmost confidence in.

“When I look at the people who are ready to step into my job, they’re awesome and they deserve a chance to build upon what’s been done and change it and make it their own, so that’s exciting for me.”

He says it’s important that the right candidate has a strong knowledge of the culture of the community and the company.

“We’re in a people-oriented business, so you have to know the people.”

Over the years, Brown has seen Whistler go through many changes.

“I’ve just seen Whistler do exactly what I thought it would do, which is grow over time and begin to mature. Whistler is more than a place to me, it’s kind of a being unto itself.”

Brown says he has always tried to appreciate the unique nature of Whistler.

“I noticed on the sign when I came into town that said ‘Resort Municipality of Whistler,’ so it was always very clear to me what this place was — this was a unique spot in Canada… this was going to be a place where people came to have a freakin’ great time in a wonderful natural environment.”

For all of the community’s quirks and differences, he encourages the residents of Whistler to embrace and appreciate the town’s spirit.

“You’ve gotta step back sometimes and look at the fact that if you live in Whistler, you have got to be in the top one or two places in the entire planet… You’ve gotta love this place for what it is, and I did, with all my heart.”