SH Hotels & Resorts Team

Meet our team of best-in-class experts and innovators in design, operations, sales & marketing, revenue strategy, food & beverage, and more.

Barry S. Sternlicht

Chairman

Barry S. Sternlicht is Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group and Chairman of SH Hotels & Resorts. For the past twenty-four years, he has structured investment transactions with an asset value of more than $65 billion. From 1995 through early 2005, Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., a company he founded in 1995. Starwood Hotels employed over 120,000 people and was one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 895 properties in 100 countries. Starwood was a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels with nine brands, including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, and Four Points.

Sternlicht has been credited as a dynamic and innovative hotel leader, creating new products and programs with immediate global appeal. He created W Hotels, perhaps the world’s most successful "boutique" brand, and grew the St. Regis brand from a single property to a global luxury hotel chain. Some of his innovations include the creation of Westin’s "Heavenly Bed," "Heavenly Bath," and "Westin Workout," and Starwood Preferred Guest, the world’s first frequent traveler program with "no blackouts."

Raul Leal

Chief Executive Officer

Raul Leal is a 35-year veteran of the hospitality industry with extensive experience building luxury and lifestyle brands. He has held top leadership roles at some of the world’s most prestigious firms.

For the past decade, Leal was President and CEO of Virgin Hotels, recruited directly by Richard Branson to launch the brand. During his 10+ years at Virgin, Leal spearheaded the organizational vision, developed and implemented the strategic business plan, and led daily operations, building a world-class team and growing a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. Leal oversaw the launch of five Virgin Hotels and the development of an additional ten in its pipeline. He also developed a sustainability foundation, comprising all design, construction, and operations through LEED standards and strict environmental guidelines. The first Virgin Hotel was voted #1 in the US and #6 in the world by Condé Nast Traveler readers.

Prior to launching Virgin, Leal was President and Partner at Tecton Hospitality, a management firm which owned and operated a diverse portfolio of 35 boutique hotels. In 2002, foreseeing the rapid growth of the boutique hotel model, he launched Desires Hotels, a division of Tecton and one of the first management companies to use data and tech to better understand guest preferences.

Leal is currently an official Mentor at Cornell University. He has also served on Cornell’s Boards for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Sara Sullivan

Chief Financial Officer

Matt Erickson

President, Food & Beverage

Reena Chung

Chief Commercial Officer

Abhay Bakaya

Senior Vice President, Development

Tony Machado

Senior Vice President, Design

Thomas Meding

Senior Vice President, Openings & Transitions

Donna L. Rodriguez

Vice President, Marketing

Nicholas Demasi

Vice President, Food & Beverage

Christopher Kochuba

Vice President, Design

Josh Littman

Vice President, Development (EMEA)

Blandine Seguin

Vice President, Design

Dan Waite

Vice President, People Operations

Join Our Team

SH Hotels & Resorts is always looking for new, talented individuals to grow with us. Take a look through our open positions and learn more about our company culture to see if there's a good fit.