Barry Sternlicht

Barry Sternlicht is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Capital Group, a private alternative investment firm he founded in 1991, specializing in global real estate. Additionally, he is the Chairman and CEO of Starwood Property Trust, a leading diversified finance company. Over the past 32 years, Sternlicht has structured investments with an asset value exceeding $240 billion. Starwood Capital’s investment vehicles have invested in approximately 290,000 residential units, 4,000 hotels, 103 million square feet of office properties, 75 million square feet of industrial space, 56 million square feet of retail space, and 70,000 residential subdivision lots. The firm currently manages around $115 billion in assets on behalf of its high-net-worth and institutional partners, with over 5,000 employees across its global offices.

From 1995 to early 2005, Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which he founded in 1995. During his tenure, he transformed Starwood Hotels into a leading global hotel and leisure company, employing over 120,000 people across 895 properties in 100 countries. Sternlicht created W Hotels, a successful "boutique" brand, and expanded the St. Regis Hotels brand from a single property to a global presence. In 2008, he founded SH Group, his new hotel management company, which owns and manages Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and 1 Hotels brands.

Sternlicht has received numerous accolades, including PERE’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 and the Global Industry Figure of the Year by PERE in 2015. He has been recognized as the Most Important Person in Commercial Real Estate Finance by The Mortgage Observer (2013), Executive of the Year and Investor of the Year by Commercial Property Executive (2010), and America’s Best Lodging CEO by Institutional Investor Magazine. His achievements have also earned him the Cornell Icon of the Industry Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Hotel Investment Forum, and membership in the Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame.

Sternlicht’s humanitarian efforts have been honored with national awards such as JDRF’s Man of the Year, Living and Giving Award, and Chairman’s Award. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Estée Lauder Companies and the Real Estate Roundtable, and has previously served as Chairman and remains a board member of The Robin Hood Foundation. Additionally, he is on the boards of the Dreamland Film & Performing Arts Center, the Executive Advisory Board of Americans for the Arts, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation Trustee Council, the World Presidents Organization, and the Urban Land Institute.

Sternlicht graduated magna cum laude with honors from Brown University and later earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.