Development Team

In 2000, an experienced resort development team, led by Chuck Cobb, purchased the controlling interest in Durango Mountain Resort and partnered with the original developers, the Duncan family, to create the vision of a dramatically upgraded resort community. Mr. Cobb and his associates have extensive experience in resort operations and real estate development, particularly in alpine environments. Our shareholders include:

 

Charles E. (Chuck) Cobb, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cobb Partners, has demonstrated a broad range of leadership experience in travel, tourism, resort and real estate development. During the 1960s, Chuck was Kaiser’s Group Executive in charge of Rancho California in southern California, the McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona and other resort communities. During the 1970s, he was CEO of Arvida, the nation’s premiere resort community development company, which developed Boca Raton, Boca West, Sawgrass, Longboat Key, Weston, Cocoplum and Codo de Caza, among others. During the early 1980s, Chuck was COO of Penn Central and was in charge of Arvida resort communities, Six Flags Amusement Parks, Great Southwest Health Studios and other resort companies. In the mid-1980s, he was the Chairman and CEO of Disney Development Company and on the Board and Executive Committee of The Walt Disney Company. He oversaw Disney’s hotel and commercial development at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and EuroDisney near Paris, France. In the late 1980s and early 1990’s, he was President Reagan’s Under Secretary of Commerce in charge of United States’ activities relating to travel and tourism and President Bush’s US Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland. During the mid and late 1990s, Chuck was CEO of Cobb Partners, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of Fisher Island an upscale resort community in Miami, the CEO of Cobb Nevada Partners, Chairman of the Board of Kirkwood Mountain Resort in Kirkwood California (nearby Lake Tahoe), an investor and Board member of The Telluride Company the resort developer of the Telluride ski and golf resort, and the Chairman of Durango Mountain Resort. Mr. Cobb is a graduate of Stanford (BA, MBA).

 

James A. Coyne is President of Hera East Holdings LLC, a private investment firm primarily engaged in real estate development.  Since 2007, he has been Vice Chairman and CFO of Stoneleigh Partners Acquisition Corp. (AMEX: SOC), a special purpose acquisition corporation and President of PLM International Inc, a transportation leasing company since 2001.  Mr. Coyne was also Executive Vice President of Equis Financial Group from 1994 until 2005.  From May 1993 through November 1994, he was with a private investment firm, where he was responsible for financing corporate and real estate acquisitions. Mr. Coyne began his career in 1982 with the accounting firm of Ernst & Whinney.  He has a BS in Business Administration from John Carroll University, a Masters Degree in Accounting from Case Western Reserve University and is a Certified Public Accountant.  Mr. Coyne serves on the Boards of several companies in which he and his affiliates have investments.

 

Gary D. Engle is Chairman and CEO of Hera East Holdings LLC, a private investment firm primarily engaged in real estate development.  Since 2007 he has been Chairman of Stoneleigh Partners Acquisition Corp. (AMEX: SOC), a special purpose acquisition corporation and Chairman of PLM International Inc, a transportation leasing company since 2001. Mr. Engle was President and Chief Executive Officer of Equis Financial Group from 1994 until 2005.  He purchased a controlling interest in EFG in December, 1994.  From 1987 to 1990, Mr. Engle was a principal and co-founder of Cobb Partners Development, Inc., a real estate and mortgage banking company, with its main offices in Florida.  From 1980 to 1987, Mr. Engle served in various capacities with Arvida Disney Company, a large-scale community real estate development company owned by the Walt Disney Company.  Mr. Engle has an MBA from Harvard University and a BS degree from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst).  Mr. Engle serves on the Boards of several companies in which he and his affiliates have investments.

 

John W. Temple, President and CEO of Temple Development Company.  Temple Development is involved in numerous developments in South Florida including Florida Atlantic University Research and Development Park, and the Ocean Club (Key Biscayne).  Prior to the creation of Temple Development, Mr. Temple served as President of Arvida/Disney and Kaiser Real Estate Development.  Mr. Temple has worked on real estate related business activities in partnership with Ambassador Charles E. Cobb, Jr. for over 30 years.  Mr. Temple is a graduate of Stanford where he received his MBA after completing a BA in mathematics at the University of Washington. He is on the Board of Directors of DMR, KMR, Florida Member of the Board of Governors for the State University System of Florida, Orleans Homebuilders - a public company, Connterre - a private company doing joint ventures in real estate development. 

 

Duncan Family. The Duncan Family, the original developers and operators of Purgatory Ski Resort, remain minority partners in Durango Mountain Resort and its various resort and real estate ventures. They bring over 40 years of institutional knowledge of the history and operations of this mountain resort to the ownership group ... and a passion to see the resort grow and prosper. Duncan Family members have various expertise in other business entities, including oil and gas, real estate and related ventures.

 

Our management team has exceptional career experience and the qualifications needed to guide the resort into an exciting phase of growth and development. The team is a unique blend of seasoned professionals who have been with the resort for many years and newer faces that bring a wealth of experience and ideas. With their experience and leadership, the resort is well positioned to achieve its goals while ensuring the value of your resort experience and investment. Key members of the management team include:

 

Gary S. Derck, Chief Executive Officer of Durango Mountain Resort, has two decades of leadership experience in real estate and resort development. During the late 1990s, Mr. Derck was the CEO/General Manager of Loeb Enterprises, LLC, a master-planned community developer based in Reno, Nevada, which were the developers of Coyote Springs (a 42,000-acre, mixed-use golf community near Las Vegas) and Wingfield Springs (a 1,600-acre golf community in Reno).

 

During the early 1990s, he was the Director of Development with EDAW, one of the largest and most experienced development consulting firms in the United States. Specific development experience during this time period include Hidden Springs (a 1,700-acre residential community in Boise, Idaho), Desert Mountain (an 8,000-acre golf community in Scottsdale, Arizona), Las Campanas de Santa Fe (a 4,800-acre golf community in New Mexico), SeaWind (a 6,400-acre resort community in Florida), Little Lake Bryan (a Disney Development in Florida) and Newport Coast (a Disney development in Newport Beach, California).

 

During the 1980s, Mr. Derck was Project Manager and Vice President with Edward D. Stone, Jr. and Associates, a premier resort planning and design firm with projects throughout the world. Specific development experience during this time include Ft. Lauderdale (Florida) Beach Revitalization, Bardmoor Country Club/Bayou Club (a 1,200-acre golf community in Florida), Sabal Bay (a 2000-acre resort community in Naples, Florida) and Sugarmill Woods (a 2,000-acre residential community in Florida). Mr. Derck has a BA from Cornell and an MBA (with specialization in Urban & Regional Planning) from the University of Miami.

 

Mark Seiter, Senior Vice President of Finance of Durango Mountain Resort, joined the resort in 1994. He is responsible for cash flow/financial reporting, financial control, accounting, tax planning and management, insurance corporate records and treasury functions and information systems. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Seiter served as a Manager with KPMG Peat Marwick, certified public accountants. Mr. Seiter is a graduate of the University of Denver and a certified public accountant.

 

Duke Eggleston, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Durango Mountain Resort and Kirkwood Mountain Resort, was born and raised in Miami, Florida, graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1988 and Vanderbilt Law School in 1991, after serving as an Associate Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He previously clerked for the Honorable Jose A. Gonzalez, Jr., U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, 1991-1993, and then for the Honorable Gilbert S. Merritt, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1993-1994. Duke moved to Durango in 1994, and in 1997 became a partner in the law firm of Crane, Leake, Ehlers & Eggleston, P.C., with a practice emphasizing Real Estate, Land Use, Business Law and Civil Litigation. Duke has served as the Vice President and President of the Southwest Colorado Bar Association, and is currently a Member of the Colorado Bar Association Real Estate Council. In 2005, he was elected as a Fellow of the Colorado Bar Foundation.

 

Jim Hards, Vice President of Real Property, has been at the resort for nearly 30 years and has been engaged in a variety of positions. He was primarily involved in Lift Operations and Maintenance for the first twelve years and in Resort Facilities for the past fifteen years. Utilizing his extensive knowledge of the resort and surrounding area, Mr. Hards became intensively involved in the resort's successful effort to plan and entitle the resort's 600+/- acre Master Plan. Mr. Hards is actively involved in the Durango community, having served on several boards, including the 9-R School District Board. Mr. Hards is a graduate of Fort Lewis College.

 

Mike McCormack, Vice President of Mountain Operations, has been with Durango Mountain Resort most of his 20+ years in the work force. Starting in Lift Maintenance at DMR, Mr. McCormack soon worked his way into supervising Lift Maintenance and was later promoted to the Director of Lift Operations and Maintenance. For the last 3 years, he has been responsible for overseeing the resort’s Lift Operations, Lift Maintenance, Trails and Grooming, Snowmaking, Equipment Maintenance, and Ski Patrol.

 

Cathy Craig, Managing Broker and Vice President of Durango Mountain Realty, joined the resort in 2001 as the exclusive agent for all of Durango Mountain Resort’s real estate activity. Ms. Craig has been involved in the resort business for her entire professional life with an emphasis on resort development during the past eight years. As a Durango native, Ms. Craig has extensive knowledge about local real estate that is difficult to replicate. She is intimately familiar with all aspects of the Durango area real estate market. Ms. Craig is a graduate of the Colorado College.

 

Sven Brunso, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Durango Mountain Resort, has been with DMR for seven years and leads the resorts Sales and Marketing team. Sven has championed outreach efforts that have developed new markets throughout the Southwest and fostered many successful partnerships both regionally and nationally. Sven manages the Sales, Marketing, Public Relations, and Website departments and is leading DMR’s innovative initiatives in database and direct consumer marketing.

Judy Wachob, Vice President of Village Services at Durango Mountain Resort, has been with DMR for 13 years and oversees all village operations including guest services, tickets, rentals, retail operations, and childcare. Judy has been instrumental in the development and expansion of the plaza retail offerings including the new Everything Durango, Pine Needle Mountaineering, and Logoz stores. Judy has also been responsible for spearheading DMR’s electronic ticketing and family friendly service initiatives.