CSU System Board of Governors welcomes Wirth, reconfirms Fischer
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Accomplished business executive and leader with a strong sense of civic service and responsibility to serve community, Andrew (Andy) Wirth, has been named the newest member of the Colorado State University System Board of Governors, following a Colorado General Assembly appointment on April 7.
Wirth, who graduated from CSU with his bachelor’s degree from the College of Natural Resources in 1986, went on to a successful career in the ski industry and then continued in executive leadership roles in sectors and industries ranging from global business development to creative new and successful start-ups in multiple sectors.
In addition to founding and running multiple companies in a variety of sectors, globally, Wirth has an extensive history of serving on non-profit and civic boards of directors. Most recently, with his friend and country music artist Joe Nichols, Wirth co-founded The Impossible Foundation, a nonprofit endowment organization established to combat high rates of suicide in the special warfare community.
“Andy Wirth has led high-performance teams in all aspects of business,” said Tony Frank, chancellor of the CSU System. “His expertise and background in governance, his passion for learning, and his commitment to his community make him a great selection for the CSU System Board of Governors.”
Wirth delivered a commencement speech at CSU in 2014, where he shared his affinity for the university: “I can tell you quite honestly that coming back to Colorado State and walking these hallways, is very much like coming back home.”
Wirth worked as a backcountry ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park then a Type I Hotshot wildland firefighting crew in New Mexico, paying for college with his earnings, grants, and student loans. While attending CSU, he also worked as a Resident Assistant (RA) and a janitor in Edwards Hall.
“Colorado State meant and continues to mean a great deal to me,” Wirth said in an interview in April 2025. “I consider myself quite fortunate to be a CSU Ram, as I drew so much from the great faculty at CSU, across all colleges. I was also able to be a part of the original CSU Crew Team and the friendships and bonds from that experience remain strong to this very day.”
After graduating, Wirth secured an internship at Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation, quickly rose through the ranks, and in 2008, was promoted to the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Intrawest ULC, the Vancouver, Canada-based parent company of Steamboat. While on the Senior Executive team at Intrawest, Wirth had responsibility for 11 major ski resorts in North America, including Copper Mountain, Winter Park, and Steamboat in Colorado as well as 19 hospitality properties in North America and Europe.
As the newest member of the CSU System Board of Governors, Wirth noted his initial focus will be to gain a fundamental and thorough understanding of the organization’s mission, governance, and ethos.
“I’ve served on a variety of civic and non-profit boards, and with that experience, I’ve come to appreciate how unique each organization is and, in turn, how critical it is to gain a solid understanding and base of knowledge at the front end,” said Wirth. “While there are clearly a host of challenges, presently, I’m deeply committed and motivated to serve CSU and the mission of the organization. Moreover, I’ve come to understand that the board of governors is a high-performance, very capable, and thoughtful collection of individuals and I look forward to learning from them and joining them in serving the students, faculty, and administration of CSU.”
Colorado Governor Jared Polis nominated Wirth for the governing board seat previously occupied by Kim Jordan. Wirth will take the oath of office at the next regular meeting of the CSU System Board of Governors in May.
The son of a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Wirth moved quite a bit. He first came to Colorado at the age of 15 to work in Rocky Mountain National Park on a volunteer trail crew and lived in Colorado until 2010. Despite now residing in Montana, “I still largely consider Colorado home,” Wirth said.
The General Assembly also appointed business leader and entrepreneur John Fischer for a second term on the CSU System Board of Governors. Fischer, known for his business and engineering background, joined the CSU System Board of Governors in 2021 and began serving as Chair in 2024.
About the CSU System Board of Governors
The Board of Governors is the governing body for the Colorado State University System and its three campuses: CSU in Fort Collins, CSU Pueblo, and CSU Global, the nation’s first fully online public university.
About the CSU System
The Colorado State University System includes three distinct universities: CSU, a leading public research university and the state’s only land-grant institution, located in Fort Collins; CSU Pueblo, a regional-serving campus and federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution; and CSU Global, the nation’s first fully accredited, fully online public university. The CSU System’s institutions serve nearly 60,000 students annually.