Financial Services >> CEO Interviews >> July 2, 2001
HASU P. SHAH is Founder, President and CEO of the Hersha Group. Mr. Shah
has a dynamic influence on day-to-day operations, as well as long term
strategies. His business achievements have been recognized through
numerous industry awards and citations, including Ernst & Young and
Merrill Lynch's prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1995. A
nationally known philanthropist, his values have been instilled in the
Hersha Group, and he serves on the Board of a variety of national
educational, charitable and civic groups. Mr. Shah earned degrees in
Chemical Engineering and Public Administration from Tennessee Technical
University and Penn State University. Mr. Shah is also a graduate of
Harvard Business School's executive MBA program. Profile
ASHISH R. PARIKH joined Hersha Hospitality Trust in 1999 as the Chief
Financial Officer, responsible for all financial reporting and capital
raising activities of the publicly traded company. During his tenure
with HT, Mr. Parikh has helped the company double its net asset value
and revenues during its three-year tenure as a public company. Mr.
Parikh also serves as Chief Financial Officer for Hersha Enterprises,
Ltd., a private hotel management and real estate development firm.
During his tenure with Hersha Enterprises, Ltd., Mr. Parikh has helped
raise over $100 million of debt and equity capital for this company and
helped leverage its existing base of assets to continue its hotel
development in the metropolitan New York and Philadelphia markets. Prior
to joining Hersha, Mr. Parikh was an Assistant Vice President in the
Mergers and Acquisition Group for Fleet Financial Group, where he
developed valuable expertise in numerous forms of capital raising
activities including leveraged buyouts, bank syndications and venture
financing. Mr. Parikh has also been employed by Tyco International Ltd.
and Ernst & Young LLP. Mr. Parikh received an MBA from New York
University and a BBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Mr. Parikh is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. Profile
Hospitality Trust and a profile of the company as it is now?
Mr. Shah: We started the public company in January 1999 with 10
