Work Out Services | Bios | Case Studies
Interstate Hotels & Resorts has formed a dedicated work out team that will rapidly deploy the necessary resources in order to maintain operational efficiencies and protect the value of the asset.
Leslie Ng, Chief Investment Officer
Leslie Ng is responsible for all of Interstate’s investment and acquisition activity as well as new business development. He has over 25 years of experience in real estate investment and finance, consummating more than $6 billion in hotel transactions involving the nation's leading hotel companies. Ng has held senior management positions with Cushman & Wakefield’s national hospitality group, Patriot American Hospitality/Wyndham International, and Carnival Hotels, a co-founder of Patriot. Ng is a graduate of The Cooper Union and holds an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
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Larry Shupnick, Senior Vice President, Development and Acquisitions
Larry Shupnick joined Interstate in his current position in 2006. He previously served as senior vice president, development and acquisitions, for MeriStar Hospitality Corporation, a real estate investment trust that was subsequently acquired by the Blackstone Group. Shupnick founded Laral Hotels in 1970, a hotel management and ownership company. In 1990 Laral Hotels merged with CapStar Hotel Company, a predecessor company to Interstate. Previously, he served in senior executive positions at a number of hotel companies, including Sheraton Corporation, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Schine Hotels and Recion Corporation.
Christopher L. Bennett, Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Since 1998, Christopher L. Bennett has led the legal department of Interstate and its predecessor companies. He also oversees the company’s human resources department and the company’s joint venture activities in India and Mexico. Bennett concurrently served as senior vice president and general counsel of MeriStar Hospitality Corporation and oversaw its legal department from 1998 until January 2003. Prior to 1998 he was an associate at the New York City-based Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine and Thacher Proffitt & Wood. Bennett is a graduate of Virginia Tech and earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.
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Samuel E. (Ted) Knighton, President, Hotel Operations
Since 2006, Ted Knighton has responsibility for overseeing operations of the company’s more than 225 hotels in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. An 18-year veteran with Interstate, Knighton previously served as executive vice president of operations for the full service division, the company’s investment fund/joint venture portfolio, and for Interstate’s Crossroads division of select-service hotels. Prior to joining Interstate in 1990, Knighton was vice president of operations for Radisson Hotels, supervising 56 hotels. He also has worked for Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Knighton is a graduate of Cornell University.
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George J. Brennan, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing
George J. Brennan leads Interstate’s sales & marketing department, responsible for sales, marketing, e-commerce, and revenue management activities in support of Interstate's portfolio of independent, branded, full-service and select-service hotels. Brennan joined Interstate in 1999, following a successful career at Carnival Resorts & Casinos, where he was senior vice president of marketing and sales. He has held a variety of executive sales and marketing positions at Eastern Airlines, including senior vice president of marketing, vice president of advertising, vice president of field sales and vice president of passenger sales. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, School of Business.
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Joseph A. Klam, Executive Vice President, Finance
Joseph Klam is responsible for the financial operations of a portfolio of more than 225 hotels and resorts in both a centralized and decentralized environment. A 28-year hospitality industry veteran, Klam began his hospitality career with Stouffer Hotels & Resorts and has also worked for Marriott International, Wyndham International, and Millennium Hotels & Resorts, joining Interstate Hotels & Resorts in 2003. He is a member of the Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals and has served on the AH&LA Internal Audit subcommittee. Klam is a graduate of American University and received an MBA 1999.
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Paul Bushman, Senior Vice President, Information Technology
Paul Bushman leads the technology team for Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Inc. He joined the company in 1996, responsible for the strategic direction and management of Interstate Hotels & Resorts information technology and business intelligence initiatives. In the past year, approximately 70 hotels have been transitioned through Interstate’s Information Technology department under Paul’s leadership. Prior to 1996 Bushman worked at Deloitte & Touche. Bushman is a graduate of James Madison University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Annie Dremstedt, SPHR, Vice President, Human Resources/Employee Relations
As vice president for human resources, Annie Dremstedt is responsible for hotel human resources strategies with a specialty emphasis on employee and labor relations. She also advises regional management teams and hotel managers on grievances, arbitration and labor matters, and also attends union contract negotiations. A hospitality human resources specialist, Dremstedt has ten years of experience within start-up, turnaround, acquisition and rapid-growth environments in the hospitality industry. Dremstedt is a graduate of Florida State University, Tallahassee and received a M.A. in Human Resources/Change Management from the University of Central Florida, Orlando.