Ross H. Bierkan to Retire from the Company
After Nearly 20 Years of Service at RLJ
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
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180410005933/en/
RLJ Lodging TrustInvestors:Ryan Meliker, Investor
Relations301-280-7774orMedia:ICRJason Chudoba,
646-277-1249
RLJ Lodging (NYSE:RLJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
RLJ Lodging (NYSE:RLJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024