Leslie D. Hale is the president and CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust, a hotel real estate investment trust. Since joining RLJ in 2005, she has held progressively senior roles, including CFO and COO. Hale was appointed CEO in 2018.

Hale previously held senior positions at GE – working in GE’s Commercial Finance mergers and acquisitions group and GE’s real estate strategic capital group. She also was an investment banker with Goldman Sachs, advising on mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance.

Hale earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Howard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Goldman Sachs and Toigo Fellow.

Her numerous civic and professional roles include serving on the board of Delta Air Lines Inc. and as a Howard University Trustee.