Laurence Geller is President, and CEO of Strategic Hotels & Resorts. Prior to founding Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Mr. Geller was Chairman and CEO of Geller & Co., a gaming, tourism and lodging advisory company he founded in 1989. Geller & Co. specialized in domestic and international hotel, corporate and real estate development, financing and structuring. Previously, Mr. Geller held positions as EVP and COO of Hyatt Development Corporation, SVP of Holiday Inn and Director of London’s Grand Metropolitan Hotels. Mr. Geller is a former Vice Chairman of the Urban Land Institute’s Commercial and Retail Council and immediate past Chairman of the Industry Real Estate Financing Advisory Council of the American Hotel and Motel Association (IREFAC). Mr. Geller serves on the Boards of NAREIT, Children’s Memorial Hospital, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the President’s Council of the Midwest Region of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable, the Chicago Olympic Committee, and the National Leadership Council for the American Jewish Committee. Mr. Geller is Co-Chairman of Trustees of the Churchill Centre and Ambassador for North America for The Hotel and Catering Institutional Management Association of the U.K. Mr. Geller is a graduate of Ealing Technical College's school of hotel management and catering. Mr. Geller has over 40 years of experience in the lodging industry and has received numerous awards for his service to the lodging industry.

Diane M. Morefield, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, joined the Strategic Hotels & Resorts team in April of 2010. She is responsible for accounting, corporate finance, tax, investor relations and strategic planning. Prior to joining Strategic, Ms. Morefield served as chief financial officer of Equity International, a privately-held investment company focused exclusively on real estate related businesses operating outside of the United States. During 2007, Ms. Morefield served as chief financial officer of Joseph Freed & Associates, LLC, a family owned, privately-held real estate development and operating company specializing in retail, residential and mixed-use projects. From 1997 to 2006, Ms. Morefield was employed by Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE: EOP) (“EOP”), the largest publicly-traded office REIT and owner of office buildings in the United States with revenues of approximately $3.3 billion and a total capitalization of approximately $30 billion. Her last position at EOP was Regional Senior Vice President for the company’s Midwest region where she was responsible for the overall business strategy, financial performance, operations, management and leasing activity for the region with total revenues of over $450 million, a portfolio size of 19.5 million square feet and over 300 employees. Prior to this role, Ms. Morefield was Senior Vice President – Investor Relations at EOP and responsible for all investor and public relations at the company. Her earlier career experience included Barclays Bank and Arthur Andersen & Co. Ms. Morefield is a member of the Leadership Greater Chicago Fellows Association, and has completed the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management: Women’s Board Director Development Program. Ms. Morefield received a Masters in Business Administration from The University of Chicago and a Bachelors of Science in Accountancy from The University of Illinois. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Richard J. Moreau was named Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer in September 2011. He had served as our Executive Vice President—Asset Management since 2005. Mr. Moreau previously served as our Vice President—Asset Management from 1997 to 2003 and Senior Vice President—Asset Management from 2003 until 2005. Mr. Moreau is responsible for the asset management of all our properties. Mr. Moreau has been in the hospitality industry for over 30 years in both property and multi-unit operation positions. From 1992 until he joined us in November 1997, Mr. Moreau was a principal in Gremor Hospitality, a hotel asset management company. From 1988 until 1992, he was a principal and Executive Vice President at Inn America Corporation, an independent hotel management company. He was responsible for the day-to-day operations of 22 full service hotels and resorts operating under franchise agreements with Hilton, Sheraton and Holiday Inn. From 1985 until 1988, he was a Vice President of Operations for Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of all pre-opening and operating procedures for six prototype Hyatt hotels. From 1972 to 1985, Mr. Moreau worked for The Howard Johnson Company.

Stephen M. Briggs is the Company’s Senior Vice President, Principal Accounting Officer.  Prior to joining the Company in 2007, Mr. Briggs served as the Senior Vice President-Asset Strategy/Strategic Planning of Equity Office Properties (EOP), where he provided strategic direction and leadership to the accounting, tax, financial reporting, regional finance, lease administration and financial modeling functions.  His responsibilities included all external and internal financial reporting, including SEC reporting, federal and local income tax compliance, reporting to EOP’s audit committee and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and coordination with external auditors of quarterly and annual audit processes.  Prior to that, Mr. Briggs held positions at EOP as Senior Vice President – Chief Accounting Officer (2000-2004); Senior Vice President – Financial Reporting and Accounting (1999); Vice President- Financial Reporting and Accounting (1996-1999) and Vice President – Property Accounting (1993-1996). He was formerly a Vice President at VMS Realty Partners and an Auditor at Deloitte, Haskins & Sells. Mr. Briggs is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of Best Financial Practices Council of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trust.

Paula C. Maggio has been our Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel since 2007. Ms. Maggio has been responsible for oversight of the company’s legal affairs since May 2004, when she acted as our Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel. Ms. Maggio played a critical role in the company’s initial public offering in 2004 and has subsequently executed a number of significant transactions for the company. Upon joining our predecessor in December 2000, Ms. Maggio acted as Vice President, Assistant Secretary and Associate General Counsel. Prior to joining us, Ms. Maggio practiced law in private practice. Ms. Maggio received a Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Illinois in 1991 and 1994, respectively.