After leaving Netflix in February, co-founder and former co-CEO Reed Hastings has a new business venture. Hastings has acquired a stake in Powder Mountain, a ski resort in Utah. Details of the transaction are not public, but Hastings, who still serves as executive chairman at Netflix, will assume one of five board seats and help oversee management and operations, according to the resort’s press release. Hastings plans to fund lift upgrades, restaurants and parking, he said in the statement. Hastings owns property at the resort and enjoys snowboarding with his wife, Patty, according to the release. “Patty and I love this mountain community and want to see it flourish,” Hastings said. “We’re looking forward to being a part of Powder Mountain’s future and to help safeguard what makes this place special.”
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It is unclear if this is a serious money-making opportunity or a passion project for the 62-year-old. Ski resorts are expensive to operate, and their profits often rely on uncontrollable factors like the weather and the economy. Investors saw opportunity in the Utah mountain a decade ago and started a project to create a $1 billion development with 500 homes, but that has yet to materialize, according to Fortune. Snowbasin Resort, a nearby mountain, has also experienced growth troubles, Fortune reported. Hastings earned $34.7 million in salary and stock options from Netflix last year, so the investment could represent a leisure activity for the former executive.
With a board seat, Hastings will be able to help shape the future of the resort. He doesn’t have any plans about what he wants the future to look like, he told the Salt Lake Tribune on April 17. He purchased the stake from the founders of Summit Series, a company that hosts invitation-only conferences for celebrities, politicians and tech executives, according to Fortune. One of the founders, Elliot Bisnow, approached Hastings and said, “You’d be the perfect owner from our point of view in terms of loving the mountain and appreciating it for what it is. And frankly, you’ve got the money,” according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “I was like, ‘Yes,’ and we hadn’t even talked price,” Hastings said.
Hastings will work alongside majority owner Greg Mauro, founder of venture capital firm Learn Capital. The resort appointed a new general manager with twenty years of experience, Kevin Mitchell, in November.
