Speaker: Mr. Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr., Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Park Hotels & Resorts
Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr. is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Park Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: PK) which is the recent lodging REIT spin off from Hilton Worldwide. Park is the second largest lodging REIT with 54 hotels and nearly 32,000 rooms in the U.S. and several international markets and approximately $9 billion in assets. Park is focused on assembling a portfolio of upper upscale and luxury assets in top 25 markets in the US and premium resort destinations.
Mr. Baltimore was President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of RLJ Lodging Trust until he resigned in May 2016. In May 2011, Mr. Baltimore successfully led the roll-up and merger of RLJ Development, a hospitality investment firm, with its two affiliated private equity funds, and the subsequent initial public offering of RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ). RLJ is one of the largest U.S. publicly-traded lodging REITs with 125 hotels with more than 20,900 rooms, located in 21 states and the District of Columbia.
Mr. Baltimore was the co-founder and President of RLJ Development, with direct day-to-day responsibility for company operations since its inception in 2000. Under Mr. Baltimore’s leadership, RLJ, through its affiliated private equity funds, raised over $2 billion in equity from major public and corporate pension funds, financial institutions and insurance companies, and acquired or disposed of nearly $7 billion in hotel real estate. Prior to launching RLJ, Mr. Baltimore was a seasoned hospitality executive and between 1988 and 2000, Mr. Baltimore served in senior-level positions at Hilton Hotels Corporation, Host Marriott Services Corporation (Marriott spin-off) and Marriott Corporation, where he was involved in business development, finance and acquisition roles. Mr. Baltimore commenced his career in public accounting at Price Waterhouse.
Mr. Baltimore earned a B.S. degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and an M.B.A, from the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia where he is an occasional guest lecturer. He is the Lead Independent Director of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) where he also chairs the Investment and Risk Committees and serves on the Compensation Committee. Mr. Baltimore is a former Director of Duke Realty Corporation (NYSE: DRE) and Integra Life Sciences Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: IART). He is currently Chair of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit) Executive Board and also serves on the board of UVIMCO (University of Virginia Investment Management Company). Mr. Baltimore is a former Trustee of the Darden School Foundation at the University of Virginia, and previously served as a Board member of the University’s Jefferson Scholars Foundation.