executed several marquee public market transactions to enhance the scale of his core platform—including the creation and expansion of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), the consolidation of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (formerly NYSE: HOT), the spin-off and growth of Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH) and the formation of Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR). Similarly, he has been involved in numerous private market consumer businesses as an early investor.
Mr. Sternlicht currently serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of STWD, a leading, diversified real estate finance company with over $5 billion in market capitalization as of January 2021; and one of the first mortgage REITs launched post-crisis. Since inception in 2009, Mr. Sternlicht guided STWD through a steady evolution with over $61 billion in deployed capital, evolving from a pure-play commercial lender to a diversified commercial REIT with residential lending, commercial mortgage servicing, property ownership and infrastructure lending.
Mr. Sternlicht also has deep operating expertise, serving as the Chairman, from January 1995 through May 2005, and as the Chief Executive Officer, from January 1995 through September 2004, of HOT; a period in which the share price appreciated at a compound annual growth rate of 16%. Over his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, he grew the total market capitalization of HOT to approximately $10 billion. As Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sternlicht executed several key acquisitions, including Westin Hotels, Patriot American and ITT Corp., and led the development of the W Hotel concept.
Outside of his public market experience, Mr. Sternlicht has made a variety of investments in the consumer sector. Most notably, he has acquired or founded a number of independent hotel chains, including Baccarat Hotels, 1 Hotels and Treehouse Hotels, which are operated by SH Hotels & Resorts, a hotel brand management company and an affiliate of Starwood Capital. In addition to these investments, Mr. Sternlicht has invested in various consumer facing companies, including ThirdLove, a women’s clothing brand, Lyft, a ride share application, 2ndMD, which offers medical second opinions with virtual online consultations, Bonobos, an e-commerce-driven apparel company, Palantir, which specializes in big data analytics, Wish, a leading U.S.-based e-commerce platform, Flipkart, a leading India-based e-commerce platform, and Alibaba, a leading China-based e-commerce platform.
Mr. Sternlicht’s other public market experience includes:
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Serving as Chairman of Jaws Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: JWS), a special purpose acquisition company which successfully conducted its initial public offering ("IPO") in May 2020;
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Serving as Chairman of Jaws Spitfire Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SPFR), a special purpose acquisition company which successfully conducted its IPO in December 2020;
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Serving as a Director of INVH, the largest publicly-traded investor, owner and operator of single-family homes in the U.S. from 2017 to 2020. INVH was formed via the spin-off of Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust from STWD in 2014; and the subsequent mergers with Colony American Homes and Invitation Homes;
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Serving as a Director of The Estée Lauder Companies, a multinational manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products, since 2004;
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Serving as a Director of A.S. Roma, the professional Italian football club based in Rome, from 2014 to 2020;
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Serving as the Chairman of the Board of Baccarat, S.A., a French manufacturer of fine crystal glassware located in Baccarat, France, from 2005 to 2018;
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Serving as Chairman of TRI Pointe Group (NYSE: TPH), a leading builder of new homes, from the initial public offering, or IPO, until 2017, including through its $2.8 billion merger with Weyerhaeuser Company in 2014;
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Serving as a Director for Restoration Hardware (NYSE: RH), a luxury brand in home furnishings, from IPO in 2012 through 2014;
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Serving as a Director of Vesper Healthcare Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company which successfully conducted its IPO in November 2020;