Andy Shepard
June 3, 2022
Saddleback CEO Andy Shepard steps down, will focus on resort's philanthropy
By Jessica Hall
Andy Shepard, the CEO and general manager of Saddleback Maine since the ski area’s purchase in 2019, said he has resigned from those roles, effective immediately, due to health issues. He will shift his professional focus to the resort's charitable programs.
Shepard, 65, said he has back problems that prevent him from continuing his current work and needs to spend more time focusing on his well-being. A successor has not yet been named and will likely be found internally.
“I’m a really upbeat, positive person typically and generally had a lot of energy. I couldn’t continue to do that job and get my health back,” Shepard told Mainebiz on Friday. “I went into this trying to create a culture of empowerment and build a staff capable of anything. I’m so proud of the group that is there now. I do step away with confidence.”
In his new role, Shepard will focus on fundraising and community development, telling the story of the mountain, and continuing to support the needs of the greater Rangeley community.
Shepard said he will work on fundraising for continued redevelopment of the mountain and the surrounding community. Among the areas he wants to focus on: supporting health and wellness, access to child care, workforce housing, and starting a staffing agency so seasonal workers can find year-round employment.
Shepard was instrumental in the rebirth of Saddleback, which before its closure in the 2014-2015 season was the largest employer in the region and supported dozens of other nearby businesses.
Boston-based Arctaris Impact Fund purchased the mountain in January 2020 with a goal of creating hundreds of local jobs and establishing the mountain as a sustainable economic engine,
“We had to build everything from scratch. There was deferred maintenance that needed to be addressed. All the things that made the mountain unprofitable before had to be addressed,” Shepard said.
Jonathan Tower, managing partner at Arctaris, said, “Thanks to Andy Shepard, here’s proof that you can move mountains with enough vision. Arctaris and Saddleback are grateful for Andy’s leadership in rebuilding Saddleback Mountain in less than a year and during a pandemic, and now he’s carrying the torch even further with our philanthropic initiatives.”
Shepard said the biggest challenge was working to get the ski area operational and open during the pandemic.
“We bought the mountain and were meeting with architects when the pandemic hit. We talked about what it would take to get the mountain open at a time like that and we decided to create the safest air quality possible. We put in massive air duct and HVAC systems. We put ‘outdoor quality air’ indoors,” Shepard said. “Even if COVID went away, there would still be cold season and flu season and we needed to keep it safe for people.”
His biggest joy has been working with the team at Saddleback and the community of Rangeley.
“We’ve actually created an empowered organization where people come to work every day to make the mountain a better place. And that’s an everyone function. If we’re not hearing from people on the front line, we can’t make changes,” Shepard said.
Shepard said he got too much of the credit for the changes at Saddleback and he applauds the team there for all their hard work.
In a written message to the Saddleback staff, Shepard said, “Together, we have re-established Saddleback as a magical place where people really do care about one another, where crying kids will get attention and a cup of cocoa, where we accept our responsibility to protect our remarkable natural environment, where we are known for transparency and doing what we say we’re going to do and where every guest is made to feel our appreciation for being here.”
Shepard told Mainebiz that the decision to step down as general manager was hard, but necessary. He said he was leaving the mountain in good hands, though.
“It’s a team of leaders that care and respect one another. It’s a group of young leaders who are thriving,” Shepard said. “I went into this year thinking it would be my last year. But it just became clear that it wasn’t possible to finish the year. It’s been such an honor to have been part of this mountain.”
To hear more from Shepard, check out Episode 43 of the Mainebiz podcast "The Day That Changed Everything."
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