Ross H. Bierkan to Retire from the Company After Nearly 20 Years of
Service at RLJ
BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 10, 2018--
RLJ Lodging Trust (the “Company”) (NYSE: RLJ) today announced that
President and Chief Executive Officer Ross H. Bierkan will retire from
the Company, effective at the end of the term of his existing employment
agreement on August 22, 2018. In alignment with the Board’s executive
succession planning, the Board of Trustees has named Leslie D. Hale as
President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 22, 2018. Mr.
Bierkan will not stand for election at the 2018 Annual Meeting, and Ms.
Hale will be nominated for election at the 2018 Annual Meeting.
Ms. Hale currently serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating
Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The Company is working with an
executive search firm and will make announcements with respect to the
roles of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer in the near
term.
“I, along with the other members of the Board, am pleased to name Leslie
as the Company’s next CEO and welcome her nomination to the Board,” said
Robert L. Johnson, Founder and Chairman of RLJ Lodging Trust. “We have
an active and engaged Board, and part of our ongoing responsibility is
thoughtful succession planning. Through this process, the Board
determined that Leslie is singularly positioned and is the right person
to take RLJ to the next stage. Leslie has done an incredible job as both
COO and CFO. She knows our strategy well, and with her deep involvement
in both the operational and financial sides of the business, she is
uniquely prepared to succeed Ross and lead the Company forward. We are
confident this leadership succession will be seamless and that Leslie
will drive the Company’s continued success with an intense focus on
maximizing value for our shareholders.”
Mr. Johnson continued, “Ross was the first executive that Tom Baltimore
and I hired and he became a critical part of our hotel real estate
vision and venture. I want to thank Ross for his dedicated service as
CEO of the Company. Ross has been a key member of the management team at
RLJ Lodging Trust and its predecessor company for almost 20 years, and
he has played a crucial role in its tremendous growth and development.
We wish Ross all the best in his future endeavors.”
“It’s an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to serve as the
next CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust,” said Ms. Hale. “This is an exciting time
for the Company as we build on our strong momentum and continue to
execute on our priorities. We are well-positioned for continued success
with a proven investment strategy, a high quality diversified portfolio,
a solid balance sheet and an attractive cash flow profile. I am
confident in our strategic direction and in our ongoing ability to
pursue the optimal path to unlock value. Over the last 13 years, we have
built an incredible and talented team of individuals with an
unparalleled enthusiasm to drive this company forward. I look forward to
leading them as we continue to focus on maximizing shareholder value.”
“I am proud to have served with a team that has evolved from a start-up
in the year 2000 to the third largest pure lodging REIT. We have a high
quality portfolio, a seasoned, experienced team, and the right strategic
plan in place, which we have been successfully executing to unlock
value. We are well on our way to achieving our key objectives this year,
and with this backdrop, now is the right time for me to retire and
celebrate the next generation of leadership at RLJ Lodging Trust,” said
Mr. Bierkan. “The Company could not ask for a better choice than Leslie,
who has an intimate knowledge of both our Company and the industry, and
has demonstrated remarkable leadership qualities in her roles as COO and
CFO. I look forward to supporting Leslie and the entire team to ensure a
smooth transition.”
Ms. Hale joined RLJ Development, LLC the Company’s predecessor in 2005
as its Director of Real Estate and Finance and was promoted to Vice
President in 2006. In 2007, she was promoted to Chief Financial Officer
and Senior Vice President and, in 2013, she was promoted to Executive
Vice President. In 2016, Ms. Hale also took on the role of Chief
Operating Officer, with the added responsibility for management of the
Company’s operating platform in addition to overseeing all financial
matters. Ms. Hale has served as a member of the board of directors of
Macy’s, Inc. since January 2015. Prior to Ms. Hale’s tenure at RLJ, she
held several positions of increasing responsibility within General
Electric Capital Corporation (“GE”), including Vice President in
the Mergers and Acquisitions Group of GE Commercial Finance and
Associate Director in the Strategic Capital Group of GE Real Estate.
Before GE, Ms. Hale was an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Ms.
Hale earned her bachelor's degree in Finance from Howard University in
1994, and her MBA from Harvard Business School in 2001. She also serves
as a trustee of Howard University and lives with her family in the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
About Us
RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate
investment trust focused on acquiring premium-branded, focused-service
and compact full-service hotels. The Company’s portfolio consists of 155
hotels with approximately 30,200 rooms located in 26 states and
the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated
hotel with 171 rooms.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain statements, other than purely
historical information, including estimates, projections, statements
relating to the Company’s business plans, objectives and expected
operating results, and the assumptions upon which those statements are
based, that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements
generally are identified by the use of the words “believe,” “project,”
“expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “will
continue,” “intend,” “should,” “may” or similar expressions. Although
the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions,
beliefs and expectations, such forward-looking statements are not
predictions of future events or guarantees of future performance and the
Company’s actual results could differ materially from those set forth in
the forward-looking statements. Some factors that might cause such a
difference include the following: the current global economic
uncertainty, increased direct competition, changes in government
regulations or accounting rules, changes in local, national and global
real estate conditions, declines in the lodging industry, seasonality of
the lodging industry, risks related to natural disasters, such as
earthquakes and hurricanes, hostilities, including future terrorist
attacks or fear of hostilities that affect travel, the Company’s ability
to obtain lines of credit or permanent financing on satisfactory terms,
changes in interest rates, access to capital through offerings of the
Company’s common and preferred shares of beneficial interest, or debt,
the Company’s ability to identify suitable acquisitions, the Company’s
ability to close on identified acquisitions and integrate those
businesses and inaccuracies of the Company’s accounting estimates. Given
these uncertainties, undue reliance should not be placed on such
statements. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no
obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The
Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements and urge investors to carefully review the
disclosures the Company makes concerning risks and uncertainties in the
sections entitled “Risk Factors,” “Forward-Looking Statements,” and
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report, as well as risks,
uncertainties and other factors discussed in other documents filed by
the Company with the SEC.
For additional information or to receive press releases via email,
please visit our website: http://rljlodgingtrust.com

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Source: RLJ Lodging Trust
RLJ Lodging Trust
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