Jim Crown, whose family owns Aspen Skiing Co. with Jim as managing partner, speaks on Friday, February 17, 2023 during the official ribbon cutting for the new base area at Buttermilk Ski Area.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Jim Crown died Sunday at a Woody Creek racetrack, on his 70th birthday.
Henry Crown president and CEO and managing partner of Aspen Skiing Co. hit a crash barrier in a single-vehicle crash at Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, according to the coroner’s office of Pitkin County.
“The official cause of death is pending an autopsy, although multiple blunt force trauma is evident,” the coroner’s office said in a statement. “The manner is accidental.”
The coroner, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado State Patrol declined to provide further details, pending the investigation.
“The Crown family is deeply saddened by the sudden death of Jim Crown in an accident today. The family asks that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. More details on plans for a memorial to remember Jim’s remarkable life are forthcoming. will be announced at a later date,” family spokesman Jacob Crows said in a statement Sunday night.
According to the statement:
Crown was chairman and CEO of Henry Crown and Co., a privately held firm that invests in public and private securities, real estate and operating companies. At the time of his death, Crown served as the principal director of General Dynamics Corp., a director of JPMorgan Chase, a trustee of The Aspen Institute, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Civic Committee and the University of Chicago.
Crown was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a former member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Council appointed by President Barack Obama.
He was born in Chicago in 1953 to Lester and Renée (Schine) Crown. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1976 from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He received his law degree in 1980 from Stanford Law School, where he was a distinguished member of the Stanford Law Review and the Stanford Public Interest Law Foundation.
Jim Crown, whose family owns Aspen Skiing Co., makes a presentation to rename one of the ski slopes at Aspen Mountain for Bob Beattie Friday from the base of the Cup course of Aspen World. Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
After graduating from law school, Crown joined Salomon Brothers Inc in New York City as an associate. He became vice president of the Capital Markets Service Group in January 1983, where he met his future wife, Paula. In April 1985 he returned to Chicago to join his family’s investment firm.
Jim Crown is survived by his parents Lester and Renée (Schine), his wife of 38 years, Paula (Hannaway), six siblings, and his children Torie, Hayley, W. Andrew, Summer Crown, his son-in-law Matt McKinney . and two beloved grandsons, Jackson and Lucas McKinney.
There will be a private service and celebration of her life later this year, according to Crowns.
In recent months, he presided over the opening of the revamped Buttermilk ski area, rebranded the company’s hospitality division and hired hospitality division CEOs Alinio Azevedo and Aspen Snowmass, Geoff Buchheister, with retirement at the end. of this ski season by CEO Mike Kaplan.
Crown was an active leader of his ski company even with his other responsibilities, and he had such an influence on the ski industry that Aspen Skiing Co., in many ways, has been a leader in service to the customer, experienced staff and attention to environmental sustainability and affordable housing. challenges
