DALLAS, Sept. 7, 2016
/PRNewswire/ -- Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE:
AHT) ("Ashford Trust" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the
appointment of a new independent director, Fred Kleisner, effective September 6, 2016. The appointment of Mr.
Kleisner brings the total number of directors to seven and the
total independent directors to six.
Mr. Kleisner, age 71, has held senior management positions at
Morgans Hotel Group Co., Hard Rock Hotel Holdings LLC, Rex
Advisors, LLC, Wyndham International, Inc., Starwood Hotels &
Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Westin Hotels and Resorts, Interstate
Hotels Company, The Sheraton Corporation, and Hilton Hotels, Corp.
Mr. Kleisner currently serves as a director of Caesars
Entertainment Corporation, Kindred Healthcare, Inc., Playtime, LLC,
as member of the Board of Managers of Ambridge Hospitality, and on
the Advisory Council of Michigan State
University's Broad School of Business. He previously served
on the board of directors of Apollo Residential Mortgage, Inc.,
Hard Rock Holdings, LLC, the Museum of Arts & Design, NYC, as a
Trustee/Director for the Culinary Institute of
America, and as a Trustee of National Outdoor Leadership
School. He holds a degree from The School of Hospitality Business
at Michigan State University.
"We are excited to welcome Fred to the Ashford Trust board,"
said Monty J. Bennett, Ashford
Trust's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "He brings extensive
experience from his many years of service in senior leadership
positions in the hospitality and real estate investment industries.
Fred's executive, operational and finance knowledge will make him a
valuable addition to our board."
Mr. Kleisner was introduced to the Company by Greg Cohen of Rambleside Holdings, an investor
in Ashford Trust. Mr. Cohen said, "Rambleside is pleased to have
helped facilitate the appointment of Fred to the Ashford Trust
board. Fred has an outstanding record as a business leader and we
believe he will be a strong addition to the Board."
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP served as legal counsel to
Ashford Trust, and Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen, P.C.
served as legal counsel to Rambleside Holdings.
Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust
(REIT) focused on investing opportunistically in the hospitality
industry in upper upscale, full-service hotels.
Follow Chairman and CEO Monty
Bennett on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBennettAshford or
@MBennettAshford.
Ashford has created an Ashford App for the hospitality REIT
investor community. The Ashford App is available for free
download at Apple's App Store and
the Google Play Store by searching "Ashford."
Certain statements and assumptions in this press release
contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are
being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely result,"
"may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe,"
"intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify
forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to
numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside
Ashford Trust's control.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without
limitation: general volatility of the capital markets and the
market price of our common stock; changes in our business or
investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital;
availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and
the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general
economy; and the degree and nature of our competition. These
and other risk factors are more fully discussed in Ashford Trust's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or circumstances, changes in
expectations or otherwise.
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SOURCE Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.