Just like the many ski destinations that his company manages, Allard School of Law alumnus Trevor Bruno’s’ career has seen its fair share of adventure. In 2007, Trevor joined Intrawest, the largest developer and operator of ski resort properties in North America, as Legal Counsel. Over the years, through a series of challenging events and rewarding opportunities, Trevor worked his way up to serve as the President of Intrawest Resort Club Group and Intrawest Hospitality Management.
“It has been such a crazy ride at Intrawest. The financial crisis in 2008 forced us to really examine the businesses we operated and make some tough decisions. It was particularly gratifying to work through these and ultimately have the company go public again in January 2014.
Trevor has helped guide the company through some significant deals. Most recently, Intrawest announced the selling of Intrawest Resort Club Group, one of the businesses that Trevor manages, to Diamond Resorts International.
In addition to having a great support network and mentors that he was able to lean on when things got tough, Trevor credits the legal training he received at Allard Law in helping him achieve the success he has had.
“Law teaches you how to analyze problems and work towards a practical solution. I’ve always been confident in my abilities and when presented with a new challenge, I tend to attack it head on. You can’t let something new and different scare you. So whenever I was asked to do something at Intrawest, I simply said yes and went about the task of doing it.”
Even in law school, Trevor had a burgeoning interest in business. So much so that he helped start the Law and Business Society, which continues to be an active student-run group that helps connect students with law firms.
Trevor’s experience working on large-scale deals began fairly early on his career. Shortly after graduation, Trevor joined the law firm Sidley LLP in New York where he had the opportunity to work on deals that took several companies public.
“That was a lot of fun as you really got to study the business and position it so that the markets could understand the company. I think one of the most memorable deals I was involved in was the acquisition of the St. Louis Blues, but maybe that is just because I’m a sports fan.”
But those early days as a young lawyer in a big city were not easy. Trevor recalls what helped him get through those long hours, impeding deadlines and difficult clients: “I tried to focus on working with people that I could learn from and less on the size of the deal. I was given more responsibility sooner as a result.”
What drives Trevor? “I really like the action of being involved in making “the deal” happen and when done right, Mergers and Acquisitions can be good for all parties involved. You need to understand the business needs of the parties and work to achieve those goals.”
When not working on the next big deal, Trevor likes to stay active and enjoys skiing, golfing, biking and running.