About Us
Ryan Byrne – Founder & Principal, Mont’Ara
Ryan Byrne grew up racing competitively in the Vermont mountains, forming a deep and lifelong bond with alpine life. He earned degrees in Economics and Finance from UCLA and the London School of Economics, and then began his career in private equity at Capital Resource Partners.
During the dot-com era, Ryan founded a travel-tech startup before pivoting to pursue creative endeavors, earning an MFA in directing from USC and then becoming an award-winning feature-film director.
In 2007, Ryan founded The Buzz Lab, which blossomed into one of the world’s premier video-production and creative agencies, partnering with leading brands such as Adobe, Oracle, eBay, PayPal, Hulu, PwC, NIH, and Uber.
Whether in finance, filmmaking, or production, architecture has always been Ryan’s side passion—buying, remodeling, and building homes throughout his adult life. That passion culminated in 2019 with the design and completion of his first ski home on Powder Mountain (Lot 80).
With the launch of Mont’Ara in 2023, Ryan fully immersed himself in mountain‑centric design and development. The name Mont’Ara reflects his core mission: “Mont” for mountain, and “Ara”, (Latin for “altar”) – a constellation symbolizing the gateway to the sky/heavens.
At Mont’Ara, Ryan combines cinematic storytelling, financial discipline, and a love of alpine building – drawing on years living and constructing at Powder Mountain – to craft custom ski homes that are beautifully designed, deeply authentic, and intrinsically aligned with the mountain life he’s always known.
Tarah – Interior Design & Project Coordination
With a B.A. in Visual Art and a uniquely broad career spanning the worlds of design, real estate, film, and luxury travel, Tarah brings a rare blend of creativity, structure, and service to our team.
Over the last 15 years, she’s worked alongside Ryan in a variety of roles as property manager, interior designer, and project manager. She has contributed to the successful development of high-end custom residences. Her background also includes time as a VIP luxury travel planner for Rental Escapes, curating personalized experiences shaped around each client’s unique preferences and vision, and a past life as a videographer in New York City, which sharpened her ability to distill complex stories into clear visuals—an invaluable skill when guiding clients through design decisions and project planning.
Tarah’s superpower lies in translating big creative visions into executable details. She’s exceptional at visualizing a home from the initial idea through to final installation. Her process-driven mindset, paired with her artistic training, ensures no detail is overlooked.