Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, LLC Hires Former American Express Exec as Chief Marketing Officer

Cara Whitley joins Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows as the resorts’ new CMO


[Olympic Valley, Calif.] September 12, 2013 – Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, LLC, the parent company of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts, announced today the appointment of Cara Whitley as the company’s new chief marketing officer. Whitley will assume responsibility for all of the company’s marketing and sales functions, including brand marketing, advertising, public relations, CRM, loyalty programs, sales efforts and strategic alliances, reporting directly to the company’s CEO Andy Wirth. Whitley comes to Squaw Valley Ski Holdings with over 15 years of marketing, strategy and business development experience in travel, financial services and retail-related industries. Her appointment as chief marketing officer will be effective as of September 25.

Click here for a headshot of Cara Whitley for media use

“Ms. Whitley brings with her a wealth of knowledge, variety of skill sets and vast experience, and we’re thrilled to have her join our executive team,” said Andy Wirth, president and CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, LLC. “As we continue to advance the position of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows as a premier mountain vacation destination, we are confident that Cara is just the person to help us achieve this goal.”

Whitley joins the Squaw Valley team from American Express, where she served as vice president, strategy and business development for the company’s US loyalty group, overseeing key strategic initiatives and partnership development in the US.

Prior to joining American Express, Whitley held leadership positions with Hilton Hotels Corporation, Epsilon and several advertising agencies including Grey Advertising. At Hilton, Whitley led all international loyalty efforts and the global partnership teams through three corporate acquisitions and one merger. She was part of the leadership team which oversaw the launch of the award-winning Hilton HHonors program in four new brands and over 2,500 hotels within the US. While at Epsilon, Whitley held a General Manager position overseeing the strategic development and launch of two loyalty pilot programs for major retailers in the US and Canada. Cara has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Miami, Florida.

“It's an exciting time to be working with these legendary resorts and to be joining such a talented management team,” said Whitley. “I'm looking forward to leading the marketing programs for these premier resort destinations and helping introduce them to a whole new group of skiers and riders.”

A passionate skier since age 4, Whitley will relocate to Lake Tahoe to join the company this September.