Les_Otten
| Leslie B. Otten | |
| Born | 1949 New York City, New York |
|---|---|
| Occupation | CEO |
Les Otten (born 1949), was the CEO of the American Skiing Company. Since resigning as CEO in 2001, Otten has been involved in numerous other businesses and industries, including Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox.
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Early life and career
Otten graduated from Ithaca College School of Business in 1971, after which he worked for Killington and Sunday River ski resorts. In 1980 he purchased Sunday River, and his company, LBO Resort Enterprises, grew by acquiring Sugarbush, Attitash Bear Peak, and Cranmore
American Skiing Company
In 1995 he formed American Skiing Company by acquiring S-K-I, and this expanded his resorts to include Killington, Mount Snow, Haystack, Waterville Valley, and Sugarloaf/USA. He was forced to divest his interests in Waterville Valley and Cranmore but went on to buy Pico Peak in Vermont. [1][2]
Under Otten, American Skiing Company invested heavily in marketing and infrastructure. While these investments are credited with major turnaround and growth, they overleveraged the company. A later bailout by an investment firm ultimately caused him to leave day to day operations while remaining on the Board of Directors. Otten resigned this position on February 26, 2007, effective immediately, to pursue other options. Boston.com reported "I leave the board with mixed feelings," Otten said. "It's been a pleasure to serve and help guide the Company and I wish everyone well. I truly enjoyed my tenure with the board, but now it's time to look at other options."
Boston Red Sox and other ventures
From 2002 through 2007, Otten was vice chairman and minority partner of the Boston Red Sox American Major League Baseball franchise. In 2004, the Red Sox won their first World Series Championship since 1918 while Otten was part of the ownership group. [3]
Les Otten is currently involved in a number of ventures including Mall Networks (provides online shopping for loyalty programs) and Sports Vision Technologies (produces P3ProSwing, a golf swing analyzer and golf simulator). He is current board chairman for The Jeremiah Cromwell Disabilities Center.
He started a new company, Maine Energy Systems, in May, 2008. The company is involved with sales and distribution of wood pellets and wood-pellet boilers. [4]
Les Otten is the son of Albert Ottenheimer, a German prewar steel magnate.[5]
Political Career
On June 22, 2009, after months of speculation, word broke that Otten will announce the formation of an exploratory committee for a potential bid for Governor of Maine in 2010 on June 29. Otten will run as a Republican.[6] [7] The campaign received heavy criticism from the Maine Democratic Party for allegedly copying President Obama's famous "O" insignia and website layout from the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election cycle[8]. A statement from Otten's website claims that it was actually the Obama campaign who first "copied" the logo from the new Pepsi logo.[9].
External links
References
- ^ Winter 1997
- ^ American Skiing Company - Company History
- ^ ICQ 2004/4
- ^ [http://www.maineenergysystems.com Maine Energy Systems
- ^ de:Albert Ottenheimer
- ^ http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=106511&catid=2
- ^ Les Otten Mulls Race For Maine Governor. http://wbztv.com/wireapnewsfme/Les.Otten.former.2.1055131.html
- ^ http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/6550742.html
- ^ http://lesotten.com/blog/?id=7982282167363597605