The Board of Directors of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT - news) announced today the election of two new directors to the Board.

L. Dennis Kozlowski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tyco International Ltd., and Eric Hippeau, Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Ziff-Davis Inc., have been elected to Starwood`s Board of Directors. The elections of Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Hippeau fill two open Board positions following the resignations of Bruce M. Ford, Graeme W. Henderson, Roger S. Pratt, Stuart M. Rothenberg, and Barry S. Volpert in conjunction with the company`s recent restructuring from a paired share REIT to a standard C-corporation. Starwood has reconfigured its Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees of its subsidiary, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, so that they are identical.

``We are extraordinarily pleased with the addition of Dennis and Eric to our board,`` said Barry S. Sternlicht, Chairman and Chief Executive of Starwood. ``Dennis`s strong background in operations and mergers and acquisitions developed over his 23 years with Tyco, during which time Tyco`s revenues grew from $20 million to nearly $23 billion, should make a significant contribution to Starwood`s global operations going forward,`` Mr. Sternlicht said. ``Eric`s expertise in technology, particularly in emerging e-commerce companies, will be invaluable as we begin to build new, industry leading technology capabilities and marketing strategies around the world,`` Mr. Sternlicht said.

``The election of these two outstanding business executives, combined with last year`s appointment of Brenda Barnes, retired president and CEO of Pepsi Cola Company of North America, and Raymond S. Troubh, a highly respected merger and acquisition specialist and financial consultant who has served on the Board of Time Warner, Inc. for over a decade, is an indication of the kind of world-class board Starwood is trying to build,`` Mr. Sternlicht said.

Mr. Kozlowski joined Tyco in 1976. Since then, Tyco has become a multinational company involving manufacturing, distribution and servicing of fire protection and security systems, disposable medical products, flow control and electronic products worldwide. Since Mr. Kozlowski was appointed Chairman and CEO of Tyco six years ago, the market cap of Tyco has increased from $1.5 billion to about $63 billion today.

Among Mr. Kozlowski`s various positions with Tyco over a 15-year period, he served as President of its Fire Protection, Flow Control and Disposable Products businesses.

Mr. Kozlowski was appointed to Tyco`s Board of Directors in 1987 and named President and Chief Operating Officer in 1989. He has been Tyco`s Chief Executive Officer since July, 1992 and became its Chairman in January 1993. Prior to his association with Tyco, Mr. Kozlowski held various managerial positions with SCM Corporation in New York City and Cabot Corporation in Boston, Massachusetts.

Mr. Kozlowski is a graduate of Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, where he is a member of the Board of Regents. He also sits on the boards of several companies including Applied Power, Raytheon, and US Office Products.

Mr. Hippeau is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ziff-Davis Inc. Ziff-Davis, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is an integrated media and marketing company focused on computing and Internet-related technology, with principal businesses in print publishing, trade shows and conferences, online content, television, market research and education. Ziff-Davis provides global technology companies with marketing strategies for reaching key decision-makers. Mr. Hippeau is currently a Director of Yahoo! Inc., GeoCities, Frontier Corporation, SOFTBANK Corp. and ZD Net.

Mr. Hippeau joined Ziff-Davis in 1989 as Publisher of PC Magazine, the largest computer magazine in the world. He was promoted to Executive Vice President of Ziff-Davis in 1990 and President and Chief Operating Officer in February 1991. He has been Chairman and CEO since 1993.

Prior to joining Ziff-Davis, Mr. Hippeau held a number of positions with IDG, including Vice President of Computer Publications in Latin America and Publisher of IDG`s InfoWorld magazine. He started his publishing career at an English-language daily newspaper in Brazil, where he became Editor-In-Chief. In 1975, he launched a computer publication in Brazil.

Born in Paris, France, Mr. Hippeau, 47, became a U.S. citizen in 1992. He was educated in Switzerland and England and attended university at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Starwood, through its St. Regis/Luxury Collection, Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, W and Caesars brands, is one of the leading hotel and gaming companies in the world, with more than 712 hotels in 72 countries and 125,000 employees.

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