New York, USA - August 26, 2013, New York, USA - Blackstone and its Real Estate portfolio company La Quinta Inns & Suites announced that Henry Cisneros, Mit Shah, and Alan Bowers will join La Quinta's board of Directors.
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Mr. Cisneros has more than 25 years of combined public and private sector experience. He currently serves as Chairman of the CityView companies. He began his career in public service, serving three terms as a City Council member of San Antonio, Texas, and in 1981, he became the City's first Hispanic-American mayor. He was later appointed to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Clinton Administration.
Previously, Mr. Cisneros formed Cisneros Asset Management Company, a fixed income management firm and also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Univision Communications. He currently serves on Univision's Board of Directors, is Chairman of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, a member of the advisory boards of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation.
Mr. Cisneros holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University. He earned a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University and holds a Doctorate in Public Administration from George Washington University. He previously served as an infantry officer in the United States Army.
Mr. Cisneros has been inducted into the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Builders Hall of Fame and honored by the National Housing Conference as the “Housing Person of the Year.
Mr. Shah has more than 20 years of experience in the lodging industry. He is the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Managing Principal of Noble Investment Group, which makes value-added, opportunistic investments in the lodging and hospitality real estate sector.
Mr. Shah is President of Marriott International's MINA board, a member of the owners' board for Hyatt Hotels Corporation and a board member of the Lodging Industry Real Estate and Finance Advisory Council (IREFAC).
Mr. Shah serves as Vice Chairman and executive committee member of the Board of Trustees for his alma mater, Wake Forest University, where he chairs the audit, compliance and risk committee and the nominating committee. He also serves as a board member for the Wake Forest University Health Sciences.
Mr. Shah is an executive committee member of the Woodward Academy governing board and a trustee of the University System of Georgia Foundation.
Mr. Bowers has more than 30 years of business experience and has been an active member of several boards, serving in a number of roles including Audit Chair and Lead Director. Previously, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of Cape Success, LLC, MarketSource Corporation and MBL Life Assurance Corporation. ■