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Biography

Ms. Leslie D. Hale, a member since 2013, is president and chief executive officer of RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ), a leading hotel real estate investment trust. Since joining RLJ in 2005, Ms. Hale has played a pivotal role in setting and executing the strategic vision at RLJ. Ms. Hale has held progressively senior roles at RLJ – she was appointed to chief financial officer in 2007, chief operating officer in 2016 and chief executive officer in 2018. Ms. Hale helped successfully lead the initial public offering (IPO) of RLJ in 2011 and is on RLJ’s board of directors. In addition to RLJ, Ms. Hale serves on Macy’s, Inc.’s board of directors and is a member of the MINA Advisory Board, NAREIT Advisory Board, AHLA executive board and IREFAC. Before joining RLJ, Ms. Hale held senior positions at GE – working in GE’s Commercial Finance Mergers & Acquisitions Group and GE’s Real Estate Strategic Capital Group. Ms. Hale was also an investment banker with Goldman Sachs, advising on mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance.  Ms. Hale earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from Howard University, summa cum laude,  and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Harvard Business School where she was a Goldman Sachs and Toigo Fellow.