Trevor Bruno loves to ski. Luckily, he works for Intrawest, a Vancouver-based resort developer with properties in Whistler, California and Mexico.
“I get to go to some really great places,” he said.
Bruno started his career working as a lawyer for a New York firm that specialized in mergers and acquisitions. He became acquainted with Intrawest, a Vancouver-based resort developer, while working on its acquisition by Fortress, a hedge fund. In 2007, he decided to move back to Vancouver and work for Intrawest.
“When the financial crisis hit, we did a lot of restructuring at Intrawest and a lot of that fit really nicely into my skill set, so I moved through a variety of positions,” he said.
“It was an interesting opportunity because it wasn’t a great time for the company but it was a good time for me – lots of flexibility in what I could do, and willingness to try different things.”
Bruno ultimately moved out of legal and into business development, a role he found satisfying because, unlike working on merger and acquisition deals as a lawyer, he got to see the final results of business decisions.
Experiencing two economic downturns, in 2002 and 2008, has shaped the way Bruno approaches business decisions.
“You see the mistakes that people made when people think the good times are never going to end,” Bruno said.
“You can really see what was great about the businesses and what caused them to grow, and my goal has been to enhance those parts and put discipline on those things that caused some of the challenges.”
Bruno leads Club Intrawest’s charitable activities and is involved in Lina’s Dream Endowment Fund, which raises money for breast cancer research.
Join us to celebrate the 2015 Forty under under 40 Awards January 27, 2016 at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. For tickets and event info visit www.biv.com/events/40under40.
