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Fired Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch To Receive Millions In Severance

Originally posted on Powder | By Matt Lorelli | Last updated May 28, 2025 1:04 PM ET

Vail Resorts made the bombshell announcement yesterday, May 27, 2025, that it was parting ways with CEO Kirsten Lynch after a tumultuous season.

Lynch, who was appointed CEO of Vail Resorts in 2021, is being replaced by her predecessor Rob Katz who ran the organization from 2006 through 2021.

As a publicly traded company, Vail Resorts was required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to file a document regarding the termination of Lynch's employment. The Golden Parachute, if you will, that Lynch is receiving, is quite lucrative.

According to the Separation of Employment and Severance Agreement filed by Vail Resorts, Lynch will receive a lump sum of $2,249,108, equivalent to two years of her annual salary on her official separation date. All of her unvested stock holdings in Vail Resorts will also be vested at the time of termination.

The document confirms that Lynch's last day working at Vail Resorts will be September 26, 2025. She will served as a, "strategic advisor" to Rob Katz until then.

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Despite the decline in Vail Resorts' stock and public perception since Lynch took office, Vail Resorts is considering the termination of her contract as, "without cause".

This is a common practice by many corporations who wish to part ways with a CEO or Executive without having a specific reason to point to. They entice the Executive with an appealing severance package and present the news as a resignation rather than a firing.

As Rob Katz mentioned in his letter to Vail Resorts employees, the company's shareholders and stock price are of the utmost importance to remaining fiscally stable. Katz saw the company's stock grow from $30 per share to over $300 per share during his tenure as CEO from 2006 to 2021.

During Lynch's time as CEO, Vail's stock plummeted from a high of over $370 per share to as low as $140 per share over the nearly four year period. The stock is currently trading at over $170 per share, a nearly 13% increase from the day prior, less than 24 hours after Lynch's firing was announced.

Golden Parachutes are nothing new in The United States.

Once an Executive makes it big at a big company, they're usually set for life as long as they don't do anything egregious. It's easier to calm a disgruntled Executive's qualms about their firing with a lump sum of $2 million+ than taking it to court. Think about it. I wouldn't mind getting fired and making more money than some families make in an entire lifetime.

The frustrating part about Lynch's Golden Parachute is the ease at which Vail Resorts can afford to essentially pay her off. On the contrary, the company fought ruthlessly against Park City Professional Ski Patrol's request for less than $800,000 in additional annual payroll so that their members can afford to eat and put a roof over their heads. To really drive this point home, Vail Resorts reported having $488 million in cash as of January 31, 2025.

'This is America', said rapper Childish Gambino, 'Don't catch you slippin' now'. Today's news feels like every skier was caught slippin'. We should have tried to be CEOs, I guess.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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