COLORADO BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
  • Laureates By Name
  • Laureates by Year
    • 2025
  • Supporters
  • Junior Achievement
  • PBS Specials
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  • Nomination Form
  • Laureates By Name
  • Laureates by Year
    • 2025
  • Supporters
  • Junior Achievement
  • PBS Specials
  • Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
  • Nomination Form

D.R.C. (Darcy) Brown Jr.

David (Darcy) Brown Jr. was the son of Aspen pioneer David R.C. Brown and prominent San Francisco physician, Ruth McNutt. Darcy's father came to Aspen in 1880, where he purchased several silver mines and established the first water, power, and electric companies in Aspen.

Darcy Brown's multi-faceted career included work in the oil business, serving as a U.S. Navy PT boat skipper, ranching in Colorado and Utah, and election as a Colorado state senator in 1952. After his term of office, he took over as CEO of the Aspen Ski Corp. in 1957, having served as a founding member on its board of directors since 1946. When he took over the helm of the corporation, it operated a small ski area, Aspen Mountain, served by three lifts. When Brown retired 22 years later, the company was operating Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk, Snowmass, and Breckenridge, plus two ski areas in Canada and one in Spain. Ruthie's Run on Aspen Mountain was named after his second wife; he married Ruth Humphreys of Denver in 1947.

Brown also served as president of Colorado Ski Country USA, a statewide organization of ski resorts, and as president of the National Ski Areas Association. He was an inductee into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame, the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame, and the Aspen Hall of Fame.
The Colorado Business Hall of Fame is co-presented by
Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain Inc. and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Videos produced by Becky Holden of Biography Media, [email protected]