Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) has named Thomas M. Conophy as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. A pioneer in the development of key technologies for the airline and travel agency industries, Conophy most recently served as Senior Vice President—Strategic Architecture for Sabre Inc., the worldwide leader in providing technology solutions for the travel and transportation industry. As Starwood`s Chief Technology Officer, Conophy, 39, will oversee new technology development and design for all aspects of Starwood`s business.

“We searched thoroughly and thoughtfully to find an exceptional candidate to fill the role of Chief Technology Officer, a critical role as Starwood pursues its goal of leading the hotel industry in developing and adapting technology that will change the way we all do business,” said Bob Cotter, Starwood`s Chief Operating Officer. “We are thrilled and fortunate that Tom will be joining Starwood as our CTO. He is well recognized for his significant role in developing technology that changed the dynamics of the airline industry, and we look forward to Tom concentrating his considerable vision on the hotel industry.”

Prior to joining Starwood, Conophy served as Senior Vice President - Strategic Architecture for Sabre Inc., which he joined in 1996. At Sabre, he led the group that provided enterprise wide technology strategy, vision and direction in support of the company`s business objectives. The scope included the SABRE computing complex, travel agency, airline, business-to-business and e-commerce environments. Before joining Sabre, Conophy spent a decade with Galileo International (previously Covia/United Airlines), where he held the consecutive positions of Design Analyst, Technical Systems Development Manager, and General Manager of Intuitive Products Technology, responsible for planning and supervising the research, evaluation and integration of new technology into business solutions.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 725 properties in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit the company at http://www.starwoodhotels.com.

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