NATALIE Valentine stepped into the role as Alpine Resorts Victoria Mt Hotham general manager on September 30 last year and is all set for her first winter season in charge. She brings a wealth of experience from the sports and events sector, having managed some of Australia’s most iconic venues and events, including the Australian Open and Melbourne Park Precinct. Most recently, she served as chief operations and commercial officer at GMHBA Stadium – Kardinia Park, where she led the stadium’s redevelopment and secured major events like the ICC World T20 and concerts by global acts such as the Foo Fighters.

With her proven leadership in high-profile, high-performance environments, she is already making her mark at Hotham.

She spoke with Mt Hotham Falls Creek News ahead of the 2025 winter season.

Q: Thanks for your time Natalie. What was the motivation to leave what you were doing and join ARV Mt Hotham?

A: Mt Hotham has always been close to my heart, having first learnt how to snowboard at the resort approximately 30 years ago. This personal connection, coupled with my professional experience working across the sports industry and leading some of Victoria’s major sports venues, along with the opportunity to share this experience with my family, felt like an opportunity that couldn’t be ignored.

Q: Eight months into the role, what have been the biggest challenges, biggest surprises, and the biggest rewards so far?

A: It’s almost hard to believe I have been in resort for eight months; the time has moved quickly. Experiences such as the temporary closure of the Great Alpine Road could have been perceived as a challenge; however, it presented a great opportunity to work with our local emergency services, the Department of Transport, and resort stakeholders collaboratively to achieve a positive outcome in a timely manner, whilst strengthening these relationships. More recently, it has been encouraging to see our transition from green to white seasons, with the pace picking up in the resort and the excitement for the season commencement start to build.

Q: What excites you about Mt Hotham, and what have you seen as the resort’s strengths?

A: I have been privileged to travel extensively overseas with my career and experience best practice facilities, service, and technology, so I’m excited to leverage my knowledge, experience, and passion for operational and service excellence to explore how we might introduce new ways to operate, create memorable experiences for our guests, and collaborative ways of working with our business partners and stakeholders. The resort has many strengths, including new public facilities such as the Mt Hotham Alpine Base at Whiskey Flat and Alpine Gateway, which enable ARV to engage with guests, hirers, and service providers to offer quality facilities and a point of difference. We are also fortunate to have engaged stakeholders passionate about seeing the resort continue to grow for the benefit of all. This is an incredible strength for the resort. I believe we have a great foundation from which to build.

Q: Are there any areas of improvements you’d like to see?

A: There are several areas that I have observed over the past eight months that I would like to see improve, and I’m looking forward to seeing the resort come to life over the coming months, which will help inform our priorities, including quick wins and long-term focus areas whilst ensuring we make commercially responsible and financially sustainable decisions.

Q: Mt Hotham has been looking a redevelopment of its commercial precinct. Can you update us on any progress?

A: We continue exploring our redevelopment opportunities and will review and reset our 20-year capital works program later this year, taking into consideration how we continue to lift the resort's commercial and community offerings.

Q: What are you most looking forward to this winter season?

A: The ARV Hotham team has worked hard with Carelli Constructions and key stakeholders over the green season to realise the Hotham Hub at Wire Plain. This public facility services our resort guests with direct access to the toboggan slope and resort experiences such as the Alpine Nature Experience, back-country sled tours, cross-country skiing, and Siberian husky tours. The Hotham Hub is complete with a retail and rental shop and a café to keep our guests going for hours – it will be a treat to see this facility operational in 2025. If I were to sum it up, I’m looking forward to seeing the resort come to life, our local businesses thrive, and our guests create memorable moments with their family and friends as they take to the slopes, test their toboggan skills, dine and stay in the resort, or take up one of the unique experiences across the resort.