Financial Services >> CEO Interviews >> January 3, 2005
MONTGOMERY J. BENNETT serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., a newly formed real estate investment
trust. Ashford is focused exclusively on investing in the hospitality
industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital structure,
including direct hotel investments, first mortgages, mezzanine loans and
sale-leaseback transactions. Ashford positions itself as the premier
capital provider to the hospitality industry. Mr. Bennett leads
Ashford's management team, which has extensive experience in sourcing,
underwriting, operating, repositioning, developing, selling and
financing a wide variety of lodging investments. Mr. Bennett is a member
of the Urban Land Institute's Hotel Council, Radisson's Franchise
Advisory Board, Hilton Hotel Corporation's Embassy Suites Franchise
Advisory Council, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association's
Industry Real Estate Finance Advisory Council. He formerly served on the
board of the Christian Union, a ministry to Ivy League students. He is
also Chairman of the newly formed Association for True Hospitality,
which focuses on bringing back historical values and a welcoming, family
atmosphere to our nation's hotels. He is a frequent speaker and panelist
at various hotel development and investment conferences. He holds a
Master's degree in Business Administration from Cornell's Graduate
School of Management and received a Bachelor of Science degree with
distinction from the School of Hotel Administration, also at Cornell. Profile
Mr. Bennett: Ashford Hospitality Trust is a self-administered real
estate investment trust focused exclusively on the hospitality industry
and invests
