Barry S. Sternlicht is Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Capital Group, a private investment firm he formed in 1991. Sternlicht is also Chairman of the Board of Société du Louvre, the parent company of Louvre Hotels, comprising four hotel chains including Concorde Hotels & Resorts. For the past fourteen years, he has structured more than two hundred and seventy-five separate investment transactions with a cost basis of more than $30 billion. Starwood's funds have invested in more than 11,500 apartment units, more than 950 hotels, over eighteen million square feet of office properties, fourteen million square feet of retail and over 20,000 acres of land in residential subdivisions. Today the firm manages more than $10 billion of assets on behalf of its high net worth and institutional partners and recently completed the funding for its seventh and eighth commingled funds, totalling nearly $2.5 billion. Starwood Capital Group employs approximately 100 associates at its, or affiliated, offices in Greenwich, Connecticut, Tokyo, London, Luxembourg, Atlanta, Washington DC, and San Francisco. Through its exclusive joint venture affiliates, Starwood's family employs more than 14,000 people. Starwood Capital Group has recently formed Starwood Energy Partners and is a leader in power transmission distribution. Starwood's funds co-control the nation's largest golf course operators, American Golf and Troon Golf.

From 1995 to 2004, 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 750 properties in 80 countries. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts with six internationally renowned brands, including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Sheraton, Westin and Four Points as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier developer and operator of vacation ownership resorts. Starwood Hotels employs over 110,000 people.

Barry Sternlicht has been credited as a dynamic and innovative hotel leader, creating new products and programs with immediate global appeal. Sternlicht created and launched W Hotels, which has grown to 20 operating hotels with an additional twenty under way around the world in such cities as Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Scottsdale, Barcelona, the Maldives, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Some of his innovations include the creation of Westin's "Heavenly Bed", "Heavenly Bath", "Westin Workout" and the world's first frequent traveller program with "no blackouts".

One of the youngest leaders in the hotel and leisure industry today, Sternlicht also 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, mobilising associate volunteer power across U.S. communities. Sternlicht's commitment and fundraising efforts led to prestigious national honours 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.

Barry Sternlicht was born in 1960. He received his BA, magna cum laude, with honours from Brown University. He later earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

For his commitment to design in business, in 2005, Sternlicht was inducted into the Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame. He holds an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration in Hospitality Management from Johnson & Wales University. He also received the Preston Robert Tisch Distinguished Industry Leadership Award from New York University School for Hospitality, Tourism & Travel Administration, the CEO Diversity Award by Diversity Best Practices/Business Women's Network, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, the Hospitality Heritage Award from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and the Marketer of the Year Award in 2005 from Brandweek.

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 JP Morgan Chase, and the Advisory Board of Eurohypo Bank. He serves on the boards of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's National Leadership Advocacy Program, Channel 13/WNET, 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.