Chris Smith has spent the last nine years helping Vail Resorts re-imagine the mountain resort experience for millions of guests around the world.  He currently serves as the Vice President of Business Technology, where he is responsible for the applications that power Vail Resorts\’ various lines of business including:  mountain, food and beverage, ski and ride school, retail, rental, and hospitality at all of their 37 North American resorts.

Chris is a collaborative IT executive who values strong partnerships within IT and throughout all areas of the business. He fosters a culture of being \”business leaders first,\” where everyone is expected to take an enterprise point of view and to embrace their role as a leader. He and his teams have developed several guest service innovations, including an Express Lift Ticket Pick-up process, the new My Epic mobile app, and the first widespread implementation of Mobile Pass & Mobile Lift Tickets utilizing wireless Bluetooth technology.

Prior to joining Vail Resorts in 2015, Chris was a member of the executive team at Franklin Retail Solutions, where he led the Information Technology and Client Services functions.  He also held leadership roles at Staples, where he was responsible for order management and customer service technology, as well as the technology strategy for the company\’s various high-growth lines of business.  Chris started his career as a software engineer at Corporate Express, where he enjoyed his 11 years there designing and building custom software solutions and growing as an architect and leader.

Chris lives in Golden, CO with his wife and two daughters. He is an avid cyclist and skier and enjoys challenging himself across several disciplines of bike racing and in ski mountaineering competitions.