Two vie for Pitkin County Airport Advisory Board appointments

Robert Rubey is an Aspen resident with a background in finance, aviation, and community advocacy. Evan Marks is also an Aspen resident with a similar background in finance. Both are currently being considered for the Pitkin County Airport Advisory Board.

Rubey’s ties to Aspen run deep. His grandfather, for whom Rubey Park is named, was a World War II naval aviator and one of Aspen’s early pilots. Robert’s father, a 1958 graduate of Aspen High School, also flew in the area. 

Robert himself was a commercial glider pilot in the late 1980s and early 1990s, having worked for Dieter Bibbig of Gliders of Aspen. 

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“I can still hear his German-accented voice in my head,” Rubey said. “I would absolutely cherish this appointment to the citizen airport advisory board.”

His professional background includes a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He spent a decade as an investing partner at RKM Energy, served three years as vice president at the Lionston Group, and co-founded Goodnight Midstream, where he currently is the chief commercial officer in Houston and Denver.

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Locally, Rubey participated in the Aspenites for Action committee, which backed Referendum 2 in the March election. He said that experience sharpened his focus on how transportation and airport infrastructure fit into the broader transit picture for the upper valley. 

“I am really thinking about this from a traffic perspective,” Rubey said. “That is probably even more important as this terminal gets reconstructed over the next five years.”

Rubey previously applied for the advisory board through Pitkin County several years ago and said he’s excited to now have the opportunity to serve. 

“I am totally excited about the chance to be on the advisory board,” he said. “I applied through Pitkin County when they went through the process a couple of years ago. I didn’t get picked, so I am continuing my voyage.”

In his application, submitted ahead of the city’s work session, Rubey wrote, “As a third-generation Aspen pilot, I care deeply about Aspen and the airport. Rubey Park’s namesake (my grandfather) was a naval aviator in WWII and an early Aspen pilot.” 

He emphasized that he flies in and out of Aspen weekly and believes the implementation of the new Atlantic contract will require “significant input from local pilots and their intimate knowledge of the actual operations.”

“I have that (intimate knowledge), especially as it relates to the development of the west side of the field,” he stated. “In addition, the county will be taking over tie-down management from Atlantic. There are considerable outstanding questions, such as, will pilots be assigned actually numbered slots, will plane size be limited, and who will be responsible for tug service in and out of assigned lots, insurance requirements, etc.”

Rubey said he is prepared to be an active and engaged member of the advisory board and looks forward to collaborating with staff and community members alike.

Marks, a longtime Aspen resident and seasoned investment executive, brings with him decades of experience in global finance, real estate development, and aviation-related ventures.

Marks is the founder and CEO of Alben Asset Management LLC, where for the past 25 years he has overseen investment strategies across commercial real estate, mortgage-backed securities, private equity, and venture capital. 

His resume includes leading roles at major financial institutions and private offices, including a $5 billion global single-family office he established on behalf of a prominent Asian family. Throughout his career, Marks has helped acquire and manage billions of dollars in trophy real estate, including the General Motors Building and Park Avenue Plaza in New York City.

But beyond finance, Marks has maintained a lifelong interest in aviation. 

“I also have had a keen interest in aviation ever since college,” he wrote in his application. “Such investments occupy a significant portion of my personal investment portfolio.” 

His business ventures have included a stake in PrimeFlight Aviation Services, a ground handling and security services company operating at over 200 airports and employing more than 6,500 people before its sale in 2024.

Marks has already played a key behind-the-scenes role at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport. As a member of the Fixed-Base Operator Selection Committee, he said he was instrumental in clarifying the economic advantages of Atlantic Aviation’s proposal. 

“To demonstrate its economic superiority … I guided PitCo staff to request from the respondents detailed 30-year financial projections that highlighted every revenue line to which PitCo would receive,” Marks explained. “This provided an apples-to-apples comparison among the finalists’ competing proposals.”

He also used the selection process as a strategic review of alternative governance models. 

“The self-management option was fraught with risk and impossible to execute,” Marks wrote, referencing earlier advocacy by Snowmass resident Amory Lovins. “My professional experience negotiating numerous complex leases and financings enabled me to assist PitCo staff in finalizing the Atlantic lease by providing real-world perspectives on esoteric lease issues that its legal advisors lacked.”

As a member of the Pitkin County Financial Advisory Board, Marks said he played a role in crafting and passing a resolution that publicly endorsed the Board of County Commissioners’ decisions on the Atlantic lease, airport layout plan, and Ballot Measure 1C.

Marks emphasized that he is open to serving in a variety of capacities on the board. 

“It’s not necessary for me to become a voting member of the AAB,” he wrote. “I would be equally constructive as either an alternate board member or as the city of Aspen’s ex officio board member as long as I am able to convey my ideas, practical experience, and business judgment.”

Aspen City Council will decide on a candidate on April 8 and has said they are open to the idea of appointing both individuals to the board, with one acting as an alternative.