Leslie Hale
Iconic Graduates
CEO, RLJ Lodging Trust
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Field of Study
Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance
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Year Graduated
1994
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Affiliation
Alumni
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Hometown
Los Angeles, California
Quote
“I really fell in love with finance in college...I like the concept that you can take a dollar and turn it into two.”Biography
Leslie Hale is president and CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust, and serves on the Board of Directors. Hale’s promotion makes her the first African American woman to be chief executive of a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Prior to August 2018, she served as chief financial officer since 2007, executive vice president of Real Estate & Finance since 2013 and chief operating officer since 2016. She is intricately involved in the company’s investment decision-making and long-term strategic planning. In addition, Ms. Hale oversees the execution of all asset and corporate level transactions, investor relations, and the management of the Company’s Asset Management and Design and Construction functions.Hale earned a BBA degree with a concentration in finance from Howard University, graduating summa cum laude. She earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Goldman Sachs and Robert F. Toigo Fellow. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Macy’s, Inc. and as a trustee of Howard University. In 2011, she was honored by the Washington Business Journal as one of the “Top 40 Executives Under 40.”