DALLAS, Nov. 4, 2016 — Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc. (NYSE: AHP) ("Ashford Prime" or the "Company") announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Richard J. Stockton as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective November 14, 2016. Monty J. Bennett, the Company's previous Chief Executive Officer, remains Chairman of the Board of Ashford Prime.
Mr. Stockton brings a wealth of real estate experience and accomplishments to Ashford Prime. He spent over 15 years at Morgan Stanley in real estate investment banking where he rose from an Associate to Managing Director and regional group head. Specifically, he was head of EMEA Real Estate Banking in London, executing business across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. As co-head of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Banking Group from 2010-2012, Mr. Stockton was responsible for a team of over 20 real estate investment bankers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Mumbai. He left the firm in 2013 to become President & CEO-Americas for OUE Limited, a publicly listed Singaporean property company with over $5 billion in assets. While there, Mr. Stockton negotiated and completed the $367.5 million acquisition of the US Bank Tower, implementing an over $50 million repositioning plan that resulted in SkySpace LA – the West Coast's tallest observation deck. Most recently, Mr. Stockton served as Global Chief Operating Officer, Real Estate at Carval Investors, a subsidiary of Cargill, which is one of the world's largest privately-owned companies, where he developed a strategic plan for the real estate business with approximately $1 billion in investments and operations in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and France. He was also a member of the Global Real Estate Investment Committee at Carval, while also overseeing real estate capital formation, marketing, and operations.
Mr. Stockton has also served on numerous boards during his career including the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association and Los Angeles Downtown Center BID. Currently, he is serving on the board of Watchfacts, Amazon's exclusive provider of pre-owned luxury watch certifications and warranties. Mr. Stockton received an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a BS from Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration.
"We are extremely pleased, following an extensive search process, to have attracted someone of Richard's caliber to join our organization," said Monty J. Bennett, Ashford Prime's Chairman of the Board. "Richard brings over 20 years of experience in investing in and financing real estate, and I am confident that his expertise will be extremely valuable to us as we continue to execute on our strategic initiatives in order to maximize long-term shareholder value."
