Alumni and Friends Directory

---

Biography

 Ted Forbes is Executive Vice President for People at Backcountry. With 1000 employees and approximately $500 million in sales, Backcountry.com and its family of eCommerce sites are the leading outdoor specialty retailer in the US and Europe. Ted’s team is responsible for the company’s people practices and plays a key role in growing the company’s unique values-based culture. Prior to joining Backcountry, Ted was Managing Director, Talent Management, at United Airlines, where he oversaw the company’s work in Leadership Development, Succession Planning, Learning, Diversity, Performance Management, and Human Capital Metrics. Prior to United, Ted was CEO and President of the Darden School Foundation at the University of Virginia.

Ted earned a B.A. degree in Classics from Guilford College, and an MBA with Honors, from the Darden School at the University of Virginia. For six years he was a member of the faculty at Darden, where he taught in both MBA and Executive Education programs. For ten years he was a founding partner of the Peregrine Group, a consulting firm focused on the intersection of Business and HR strategy. From 2001 until 2007, Ted served as Managing Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Learning Officer at Capital One Financial Services. During his tenure, Capital One was consistently ranked in the top quartile of Training Magazine’s Top 100 Companies for learning and development. From 1987 until 1991, Ted was Executive Director and a founding partner of Wilderness Medical Associates, a training and consulting firm specializing in backcountry medicine and rescue.

Ted is a passionate telemark skier and has been a ski patroller for 15 years. He has served in various leadership roles for the National Ski Patrol at both the Division and National level and has received multiple awards for teaching and leadership, including a National Appointment from the NSP. Ted and his partner Deborah live in Park City, Utah. He also maintains a home in the mountains of Virginia and spends as much time with his four children as possible.