BROOMFIELD, Colo., July 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) today announced the appointment of Michael Barkin as Vice President of Strategy and Development. Barkin will assume responsibilities for facilitating the Company's strategy development, leading the pursuit of new acquisition opportunities and supporting the Company's international growth. He will begin his new position on July 30, 2012 in the Company's corporate offices in Broomfield, Colo.

"I'm thrilled to have someone with Michael's talent join our Company and help lead our strategic growth. Michael has had tremendous success across a wide variety of experiences and will bring a keen insight to helping us assess, analyze and effectuate the new efforts we have in front of us," said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts.

Barkin joins Vail Resorts most recently from Denver-based KRG Capital Partners where he was a principal. At KRG, he was responsible for new acquisitions and portfolio company management in the healthcare, distribution and packaging sectors. Prior to KRG, Michael worked at Bain Capital Partners and Bain and Company in Boston.

Barkin, an avid skier, graduated from Williams College and holds a master's of business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Barkin is a member of the 2012 Denver Metro Chamber's Leadership Denver program, serves as a Trustee and Treasurer of West Denver Preparatory Charter School and is a co-founder of The Eagle Fund, which is dedicated to improving education through targeted grants in Colorado.

About Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading mountain resort operator in the United States.  The Company's subsidiaries operate the mountain resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek,Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, and Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  The Company's subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages casually elegant properties. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is  www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.

SOURCE Vail Resorts, Inc.