In his new position, Mr. Hyman will have primary responsibility for supervising the integration of the Vistana interval ownership business; coordinating Starwood�s design and construction activities; and overseeing Starwood�s Strategic Sourcing. He will report to Ted Darnall, President of Starwood�s North American Hotel business. �We are delighted to continue to build, strengthen and deepen our management team,� said Barry S.  Sternlicht, chairman and chief executive officer of Starwood.

�James�s solid operational experience and strong organizational skills honed at General Electric in an international setting will be a tremendous plus to Starwood going forward. Combined with the recent hires of Steve Hankin, former partner at McKinsey, to head strategic planning and Tad Smith, formerly managing director of a Bertelsmann business unit, to head e-commerce, we are continuing our effort to build a world class competitor,� Mr. Sternlicht said.

Mr. Hyman joined GE Capital Services in 1996 as vice president and manager of business development in Stamford, CT. He was promoted to his current position of President Europe for the modular space subsidiary in 1998. In that position, he was responsible for the $400 million in assets, with an 800 employee division which designs, manufactures, sells and leases modular units for construction, office, industrial and health care uses across European and export markets.

Prior to joining GE Capital, Mr. Hyman was vice president, corporate planning and development for Sequa Corporation in New York City. Mr. Hyman also spent seven years with McKinsey Company as a senior engagement manager in Stamford, CT where he was a leader in the firm�s aerospace practice and a major contributor to the firm�s microeconomics, multimedia and pricing practices.  Mr. Hyman earned an A.B. degree with honors in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and an MBA with distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.  Born in the United Kingdom, he emigrated to the US with his parents and grew up in New York. Mr. Hyman, a naturalized U.S. citizen, his wife and three children will relocate from Belgium to Starwood�s headquarters in White Plains, New York.

Starwood, through its subsidiaries, owns, manages and franchises hotels under its St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Westin, Sheraton, Four Points and W brands. Starwood is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 700 hotels in 76 countries and 130,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.