Barry Sternlicht

Barry S. Sternlicht is Chairman and CEO of the Sponsor and of Starwood Capital Group, a private investment firm he formed in 1991. Mr. Sternlicht is Chairman of the Board of Société du Louvre, as well as Baccarat. Over the past 19 years, he has structured more than 400 investment transactions with an asset value of more than $40B.

From 1995 through 2005, Mr. Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., a company he founded in 1995. Today, Starwood Hotels is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 800 properties in 80 countries. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts with internationally renowned brands including The St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Sheraton, Westin, Le Méridien and Four Points by Sheraton, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier developer and operator of vacation ownership resorts. Starwood Hotels employs more than 115,000 people.

Mr. Sternlicht has been credited as a dynamic and innovative hotel leader, creating new products and programs with immediate global appeal. Mr. Sternlicht created and launched W Hotels. Some of his other innovations include the creation of Westin’s “Heavenly Bed,” “Heavenly Bath,” “Westin Workout,” and Starwood Preferred Guest, the world’s first frequent traveler program with “no blackouts.”

One of the youngest leaders in the hotel and leisure industry today, Mr. Sternlicht places a strong emphasis on his humanitarian efforts. Under his leadership, Starwood Hotels became a National Partner of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes Program, mobilizing associate volunteer power across U.S. communities. Mr. Sternlicht’s commitment and fundraising efforts led to prestigious national honors, such as JDRF’s Man of the Year, JDRF’s Living and Giving Award and JDRF’s Chairman’s Award. He also focused Starwood Hotels’ efforts to support numerous causes, such as City Cares of America, Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement, Ronald McDonald House, UNICEF and Kids in Crisis, among others.

Mr. Sternlicht is a Trustee of Brown University. He serves on the Board of Directors of National Golf, The Estée Lauder Companies, the National Advisory Board of JPMorgan Chase and the Advisory Board of Eurohypo Bank. He also serves on the boards of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s National Leadership Advocacy Program, Kids in Crisis, The Harvard Club, the Business Committee for the Arts and the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding. He is a member of the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy, the Presidential Tourism & Travel Advisory Board, the Young Presidents Organization, the World Travel & Tourism Council and the Urban Land Institute.

Mr. Sternlicht received his BA, magna cum laude, with honors from Brown University. He later earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.