WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Dec. 1, 2003—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) announced today the appointment of Vasant M. Prabhu to Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Prabhu will be responsible for the accounting, tax, treasury, strategic planning, corporate development and risk management functions of the corporation, and will report directly to Barry Sternlicht, Starwood`s Chairman and CEO. Ron Brown, who has served as Starwood`s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 1995 will assist Prabhu during the transition and has been named Executive Vice President of Strategy.

“I am extremely pleased to announce Vasant`s appointment as EVP and Chief Financial Officer,” said Sternlicht. “Vasant is an accomplished financial strategist, and brings to Starwood more than 20 years of experience from some of today`s most respected companies.”

A seasoned, established business leader with a solid understanding of corporate finance and management, Prabhu most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Safeway Inc., one of North America`s largest food retailers. Prabhu`s past experience includes various senior executive positions including President, Information and Media Group for The McGraw Hill Companies where he managed a $1 billion division with more than 4,000 employees, and Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Pepsi Cola International, where he was responsible for the company`s franchise and owned operations in more than 100 countries.

Prabhu holds an M.B.A in Marketing and Finance from the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL and a B.S. in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. Prabhu will be relocating and will be stationed at Starwood`s corporate headquarters in White Plains, NY.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 740 properties in more than 80 countries and 105,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor 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 www.starwood.com

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