 - Company Overview - Hersha Management |
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Hasu P. Shah has been the Chairman of the
Board since our inception in 1998.
Mr. Shah is also the founder and CEO of the Hersha Group.
Mr. Shah founded Hersha with the purchase of a single hotel
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1984. In the last twenty years,
Mr. Shah has developed, owned, or managed over fifty hotels
across the Eastern United States and started affiliated businesses
in general construction, purchasing, and hotel management.
He has earned numerous awards including the Entrepreneur of
the Year, the Creating a Voice award, and was recently named
a Fellow of Penn State University. Mr. Shah and his wife,
Hersha, are active members of the local community and remain
involved with charitable initiatives in India as well. Mr.
Shah has been an active Rotarian for nearly twenty years and
continues to serve as a Trustee of several community service
and spiritual organizations including Vraj Hindu Temple and
the India Heritage Research Foundation. Mr. Shah received
a Bachelors of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from
Tennessee Technical University and obtained a Masters degree
in Administration from Pennsylvania State University. Mr.
Shah is also an alumnus of the Owner and President's Management program at Harvard Business School. |
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Jay H. Shah is
Hersha Hospitality Trust's Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Shah is involved in all areas of the business with a
particular emphasis on strategic relationships, capital transactions,
asset management and acquisitions. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Shah
was principal in the law firm of Shah & Byler, LLP, which he founded in
1997, and managing director of the Hersha Group. Mr. Shah previously was
a consultant with Coopers & Lybrand LLP, served the late Senator John
Heinz on Capitol Hill, and was employed by the Philadelphia District
Attorney's office and two Philadelphia-based law firms. Mr. Shah
received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Cornell University School
of Hotel Administration, an M.B.A. from the Temple University School of
Business Management and a Law degree from Temple University School of
Law. |
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Neil H. Shah is President and Chief Operating Officer of Hersha
Hospitality Trust. Previously, Mr. Shah served as Hersha's Executive
Vice President. Neil leads Hersha's active hotel acquisitions program
and new development projects. Prior to Hersha, Mr. Shah served as a
Director and Consultant with The Advisory Board Company and the
Corporate Executive Board, strategy consulting firms based in Washington
D.C. Mr. Shah has also worked with the Phipps Foundation in New York
City contributing to urban renewal projects in New York City. Mr. Shah
earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Science
in Management both with honors from the University of Pennsylvania and
the Wharton School. He earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School.
He is an active member of the Asia Society, the Wharton Real Estate
Center, the Urban Land Institute and the Harvard Club of New York City.
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Thomas S. Capello is a Private Investor and a Consultant specializing
in Strategic Planning, Mergers and Acquisitions. From
1988 to 1999, Mr. Capello was the President, Chief Executive
Officer and Director of First Capitol Bank in York, Pennsylvania.
From 1983 to 1988, Mr. Capello served as Vice President and
Manager of the Loan Production Office of The First National
Bank of Maryland. Prior to his service at The First
National Bank of Maryland, Mr. Capello served as Vice President
and Senior Regional Lending Officer at Commonwealth National
Bank and worked at the Pennsylvania Development Credit Corporation.
Mr. Capello is an active member for the board of WITF, Martin
Library, Motter Printing Company, and Eastern York Dollars
for Scholars. Mr. Capello is a graduate of the Stonier
Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University and holds
an undergraduate degree with a major in Economics from the
Pennsylvania State University. |
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Michael A. Leven is the Vice Chairman of the Marcus Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by Bernie Marcus, co-founder of the Home Depot. Mr. Leven was previously the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of US Franchise Systems, Inc. (USFS), which franchises the Microtel, Hawthorn and Best Inns & Suites hotel brands. Prior to forming USFS in 1995, he was president and chief operating officer of Holiday Inn Worldwide. During his five-year tenure, the new Holiday Inn Express brand grew from zero to 330 open hotels, with a backlog of approximately 500 units. From 1985 to 1990, Mr. Leven was president of Days Inn of America. Mr. Leven led the company through a reorganization resulting in growth from a 225-unit regional chain to one of the largest brands in the world with over 1,000 open units and 400 signed franchise agreements. Mr. Leven is a co-founder of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) which now has over 7,000 members. Mr. Leven is a trustee of National Realty Trust, The Marcus Institute and The Chief Executive Leadership Institute. Mr. Leven holds a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University and a Master of Science from Boston University. |
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Thomas J. Hutchison III currently serves as a Senior Advisor to KSL Hotels and Resorts and has more than 35 years of real estate and capital markets experience with specific expertise in lodging, hospitality and real estate development. From January of 2000 to April 2007 he held several key executive positions at CNL Financial Group, including CEO of CNL Hotels & Resorts and CEO of CNL Retirement Properties Inc. From 1995 to 2000, he was chairman and chief executive officer of Atlantic Realty Service, Inc. and TJH Development . Mr. Hutchison also serves as a Director for ING DIRECT USA, KSL Capital Partners LLC, ClubCorp, Inc., US Chamber of Commerce, Vision360, and Trinity Forum. Mr. Hutchison was educated at Purdue University and the University of Maryland Business School. |
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Donald J. Landry has over thirty years of lodging and hospitality
experience in a variety of leadership positions. Most recently,
Mr. Landry was the Chief Executive Officer, President and
Vice Chairman of Sunburst Hospitality Inc.. Mr. Landry has
also served as an executive officer for Choice Hotels International
Inc., Manor Care Hotel Division and Richfield Hotel Management.
Mr. Landry is a frequent guest lecturer at the Harvard Business
School, Cornell University and University of New Orleans.
Mr. Landry holds a Bachelor of Science from the University
of New Orleans and was the University's Alumnus of the Year
in 1999. Mr. Landry is a Certified Hotel Administrator. |
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John M. Sabin is Executive Vice President, Phoenix Health Systems, Inc., a private healthcare information technology outsourcing and consulting firm. Prior to joining Phoenix he was Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and Secretary of NovaScreen Biosciences Corporation, a private bioinformatics and contract research biotech company from 2000 to 2004. He served as Chief Financial Officer of Hudson Hotels Corporation from 1998 to 1999. From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Sabin was with Vistana, Inc., a public vacation time-share company where he held positions of Senior Vice President, Treasurer and CFO. Previously, Mr. Sabin served as an executive with Choice Hotels International, Inc., Manor Care, Inc. and Marriott International, Inc. Mr. Sabin also serves on the Board of Prime Group Realty Trust and North American Scientific, Inc. Mr. Sabin joined the Board of Trustees on June 30, 2003. |
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Kiran P. Patel serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Hersha Hospitality Trust and has been a principal with the Hersha Group since 1993. Mr. Patel serves as Chief Investment Officer for the Hersha Group, managing the company's complex development and financing activities. Prior to joining Hersha, Mr. Patel was a senior manager with AMP, currently a division of Tyco International. Mr. Patel earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from M.S. University in India and a Masters degree in industrial engineering from the University of Texas. |
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Ashish R. Parikh has been Chief Financial Officer of Hersha Hospitality
Trust since 1999. Previously, Mr. Parikh was Assistant Vice President in
the Mergers and Acquisition Group for Fleet Financial Group where he
developed valuable expertise in numerous forms of capital raising activities
including leveraged buyouts, bank syndications and venture financing. Mr.
Parikh has also been employed by Tyco International Ltd and Ernst & Young
LLP. Mr. Parikh received his MBA from New York University and a BBA from
the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Mr. Parikh is a licensed
Certified Public Accountant. |
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Mr. Michael R. Gillespie, Chief Accounting Officer, is responsible for
the accounting, financial reporting and audit functions for the company. Prior to joining Hersha Hospitality Trust, Michael was manager of financial policy & controls for Tyco Electronics Corporation, responsible for the development, enhancement and implementation of financial controls for the company. Previously, he served as a senior manager with the "Big Four" firms of Arthur Andersen LLP and KPMG LLP. Mr. Gillespie received his B.S.B.A in Accounting from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. |
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David L. Desfor serves as Treasurer and Corporate Secretary of Hersha Hospitality Trust and has been a principal partner of the Hersha Group since 1991. Mr. Desfor is comptroller of the Hersha Group, overseeing the corporate treasury and managing financial reporting for the company. He has been in the hospitality industry since 1982, having previously co-founded and served as President of a management company focused on conference centers and full-service hotels. David also serves on the Board of Directors of Channels, a regional organization which provides food to the impoverished and facilitates training welfare recipients for jobs in the food service industry. David earned his undergraduate degree from East Stroudsburg University in Hotel Administration. |
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William J. Walsh, Vice President of Asset Management, is responsible for developing strategic plans for each property, reviewing all budgets and expenditures, and working with Hersha’s operators and third party management companies to increase profitability and overall portfolio returns. Prior to joining Hersha, he worked for GF Management, a hospitality management company based in Philadelphia. Mr. Walsh joined GF Management in 1994 as a Regional Controller and was promoted to Corporate Controller in January, 2000. Previously, he was the Controller for PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Mr. Walsh also served as a Controller and in various accounting related positions for the Radisson Hotel Corporation over a ten year period. Mr. Walsh holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from Drexel University of Philadelphia, PA. |
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Robert C. Hazard III, Vice President of Acquisitions and Development, is responsible for sourcing and closing new business opportunities for Hersha Hospitality Trust. Prior to joining Hersha, Mr. Hazard was the chief executive at MetroVision Community Development, an advisory firm specializing in assisting governmental jurisdictions in the development and management of its tourism infrastructure. Mr. Hazard has also held development and acquisition positions at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Interstate Hotels and has over a decade of industry consulting experience with top hospitality and tourism consulting firms including Pannell Kerr Forster and Kenneth Leventhal & Company. Mr. Hazard holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from Arizona State University. |
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